Standard drinks in popular cocktails
These are rough estimates for a standard recipe — bartenders (and home pours) vary a lot.
| Cocktail | Spirits | Standard drinks |
|---|---|---|
| Mimosa | ~3 oz sparkling wine | 0.6 |
| Cosmopolitan | ~2 oz | 1.3 |
| Mojito | ~2 oz rum | 1.3 |
| Margarita | ~3 oz | 1.7 |
| Martini | ~2.5 oz gin | 1.7 |
| Negroni | ~3 oz | 1.6 |
| Long Island Iced Tea | ~4 oz | 3–4 |
Why cocktails sneak up on you
A beer or a glass of wine is one serving by design. A cocktail isn't — it's whatever the recipe pours. A drink that goes down like lemonade can still carry the alcohol of two or three beers, which is exactly how a "couple of cocktails" turns into a much bigger night than it felt like.
How to estimate any cocktail
Add up the ounces of each spirit, multiply by its ABV, and divide by 0.6. A drink with 2 oz of 40% vodka is (2 × 0.40) ÷ 0.6 ≈ 1.3 standard drinks. You can build your cocktail in the calculator and see it next to a beer.
Frequently asked
Is a cocktail one drink?
Usually more than one. Most cocktails are built on 2 or more ounces of spirits, which is about 1.3 to 2 standard drinks. Only light, low-spirit drinks like a mimosa come in under one standard drink.
How many standard drinks are in a margarita?
A classic margarita with about 2 oz tequila and 1 oz orange liqueur holds roughly 1.7 standard drinks. Frozen or oversized restaurant margaritas can reach 2 to 3.
How many drinks are in a Long Island Iced Tea?
A Long Island Iced Tea combines four or five different spirits — roughly 4 oz of liquor — so it carries about 3 to 4 standard drinks in a single glass.