How strong is a cocktail, really?

A cocktail's strength depends on three things: how much alcohol goes in, how much non-alcoholic liquid goes with it, and how much water the ice adds while you shake or stir. The last one is the part most calculators skip.

Start from Method

Ingredient	ml	ABV %	Remove

How the estimate works

Alcohol in. For each ingredient, volume × its strength. We use typical strengths for each kind of bottle (listed on the spirit primers); a dash of bitters counts as 0.8 ml and a barspoon as 5 ml.
Starting strength. Total alcohol ÷ total volume, before any ice.
Water from the ice. Dave Arnold measured how much water shaking and stirring add, and published simple formulas for it in Liquid Intelligence (2014). The water added, as a fraction of the starting volume, depends on the starting strength x (as a fraction):
- Shaken: −1.567x² + 1.742x + 0.203
- Stirred: −1.21x² + 1.246x + 0.145
We use the shaken formula for swizzled drinks too (crushed ice churned hard behaves similarly). Drinks built and churned in crushed ice (juleps, the Caipirinha) get the stirred formula. For drinks built over cubes we add 10% for the first minutes of melting, and for blended drinks 75% (the ice becomes part of the drink). Those last two are our own rough assumptions. Hot drinks get none.
Top-ups such as soda or sparkling wine are added after chilling and are not diluted further.
Finished strength = alcohol ÷ (starting volume + water + top-ups). Grams of alcohol = millilitres × 0.789. A UK unit is 10 ml of pure alcohol; a US standard drink is 14 g.

Worked example: the Daiquiri

60 ml white rum (light, Spanish-style) at 40%; 22.5 ml fresh lime juice at 0%; 22.5 ml simple syrup (1:1) at 0%. That is 24.0 ml of alcohol in 105.0 ml, a starting strength of 22.9%. Shaking adds 52% of that volume as water, about 55 ml, so the drink in the glass is about 160 ml at 15.0% ABV, holding 18.9 g of alcohol: 2.4 UK units or 1.4 US standard drinks.

How good is it?

Arnold reports that typical stirred drinks finish at about 21–29% alcohol and shaken drinks at about 15–20%. Our estimates for the core classics land in those ranges; the checks are on the methodology page. Real drinks vary with bottle strength (a 50% rye versus a 40% one changes a Manhattan by several points), the size and temperature of your ice and how long you shake. Treat the figures as good estimates, not labels.

Every drink on the site by estimated strength

Drink	Method	In the glass	ABV	Alcohol	UK units	US std drinks
Ti' Punch	Built	68 ml	44.4%	23.7 g	3.0	1.7
Rusty Nail	Built	74 ml	36.4%	21.3 g	2.7	1.5
Sazerac	Stirred	104 ml	28.8%	23.7 g	3.0	1.7
Old Fashioned	Stirred	97 ml	28.6%	21.9 g	2.8	1.6
Oaxaca Old Fashioned	Stirred	96 ml	26.5%	20.1 g	2.5	1.4
Dry Martini	Stirred	108 ml	26.2%	22.4 g	2.8	1.6
Manhattan	Stirred	132 ml	25.6%	26.6 g	3.4	1.9
Mint Julep	Built	108 ml	25.1%	21.3 g	2.7	1.5
Stinger	Stirred	118 ml	24.8%	23.2 g	2.9	1.7
Vieux Carré	Stirred	141 ml	24.3%	27.0 g	3.4	1.9
Caipirinha	Built	100 ml	24.0%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
Vesper	Shaken	111 ml	24.0%	21.0 g	2.7	1.5
Rob Roy	Stirred	130 ml	22.7%	23.3 g	3.0	1.7
Pegu Club	Shaken	161 ml	22.0%	27.9 g	3.5	2.0
Boulevardier	Stirred	149 ml	21.9%	25.7 g	3.3	1.8
El Presidente	Stirred	113 ml	21.8%	19.4 g	2.5	1.4
Hanky Panky	Stirred	138 ml	21.4%	23.3 g	2.9	1.7
Between the Sheets	Shaken	157 ml	21.0%	26.0 g	3.3	1.9
White Russian	Built	107 ml	21.0%	17.8 g	2.2	1.3
Martinez	Stirred	136 ml	20.8%	22.2 g	2.8	1.6
Last Word	Shaken	144 ml	20.3%	23.1 g	2.9	1.6
Negroni	Stirred	126 ml	20.0%	19.9 g	2.5	1.4
White Lady	Shaken	144 ml	19.7%	22.4 g	2.8	1.6
Aviation	Shaken	167 ml	19.1%	25.1 g	3.2	1.8
Brandy Crusta	Shaken	157 ml	19.1%	23.8 g	3.0	1.7
Zombie	Blended	327 ml	19.1%	49.2 g	6.2	3.5
Margarita	Shaken	143 ml	18.9%	21.3 g	2.7	1.5
Sidecar	Shaken	143 ml	18.9%	21.3 g	2.7	1.5
Jack Rose	Shaken	153 ml	17.7%	21.3 g	2.7	1.5
Gimlet	Shaken	152 ml	17.0%	20.4 g	2.6	1.5
Gold Rush	Shaken	162 ml	16.6%	21.3 g	2.7	1.5
Queen's Park Swizzle	Swizzled	158 ml	16.5%	20.6 g	2.6	1.5
Bramble	Built	133 ml	16.4%	17.2 g	2.2	1.2
Corpse Reviver No. 2	Shaken	140 ml	16.4%	18.1 g	2.3	1.3
Hemingway Daiquiri	Shaken	162 ml	16.3%	20.8 g	2.6	1.5
Ward Eight	Shaken	173 ml	16.3%	22.2 g	2.8	1.6
Bee's Knees	Shaken	161 ml	16.0%	20.4 g	2.6	1.5
Southside	Shaken	161 ml	16.0%	20.4 g	2.6	1.5
Mai Tai	Shaken	195 ml	15.8%	24.4 g	3.1	1.7
Penicillin	Shaken	172 ml	15.8%	21.5 g	2.7	1.5
Brandy Alexander	Shaken	161 ml	15.7%	19.9 g	2.5	1.4
Naked and Famous	Shaken	138 ml	15.7%	17.0 g	2.2	1.2
Whiskey Sour	Shaken	172 ml	15.7%	21.3 g	2.7	1.5
Espresso Martini	Shaken	148 ml	15.2%	17.8 g	2.2	1.3
Cosmopolitan	Shaken	160 ml	15.0%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
Daiquiri	Shaken	160 ml	15.0%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
Paper Plane	Shaken	137 ml	15.0%	16.2 g	2.0	1.2
Tommy's Margarita	Shaken	160 ml	15.0%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
Planter's Punch	Shaken	194 ml	13.8%	21.2 g	2.7	1.5
Blood and Sand	Shaken	134 ml	13.4%	14.2 g	1.8	1.0
French 75	Shaken	180 ml	13.1%	18.7 g	2.4	1.3
Gin Rickey	Built	202 ml	12.7%	20.4 g	2.6	1.5
Champagne Cocktail	Built	122 ml	12.6%	12.2 g	1.5	0.9
Bamboo	Stirred	122 ml	12.5%	12.0 g	1.5	0.9
Pisco Sour	Shaken	206 ml	12.5%	20.3 g	2.6	1.4
Kir Royale	Built	135 ml	12.4%	13.3 g	1.7	0.9
Clover Club	Shaken	158 ml	12.3%	15.3 g	1.9	1.1
Mojito	Built	194 ml	12.3%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
Cuba Libre	Built	202 ml	11.9%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
Paloma	Built	202 ml	11.9%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
El Diablo	Built	172 ml	11.8%	16.1 g	2.0	1.1
Gin and Tonic	Built	170 ml	11.4%	15.3 g	1.9	1.1
Jungle Bird	Shaken	206 ml	11.4%	18.6 g	2.4	1.3
Gin Fizz	Shaken	231 ml	11.2%	20.4 g	2.6	1.5
Grasshopper	Shaken	130 ml	11.1%	11.4 g	1.4	0.8
Tequila Sunrise	Built	165 ml	10.9%	14.2 g	1.8	1.0
Bloody Mary	Built	170 ml	10.6%	14.2 g	1.8	1.0
Sherry Cobbler	Shaken	149 ml	10.2%	12.1 g	1.5	0.9
Whisky Highball	Built	184 ml	9.8%	14.2 g	1.8	1.0
Moscow Mule	Built	186 ml	9.7%	14.2 g	1.8	1.0
Singapore Sling	Shaken	244 ml	9.4%	18.0 g	2.3	1.3
Amaretto Sour	Shaken	116 ml	9.3%	8.5 g	1.1	0.6
Hot Toddy	Hot	195 ml	9.2%	14.2 g	1.8	1.0
Ramos Gin Fizz	Shaken	280 ml	9.2%	20.4 g	2.6	1.5
Irish Coffee	Hot	210 ml	8.6%	14.2 g	1.8	1.0
Spritz	Built	195 ml	8.5%	13.0 g	1.6	0.9
Tom Collins	Shaken	235 ml	8.2%	15.3 g	1.9	1.1
Americano	Built	156 ml	7.9%	9.7 g	1.2	0.7
Bellini	Built	135 ml	7.3%	7.8 g	1.0	0.6
Piña Colada	Blended	341 ml	7.0%	18.9 g	2.4	1.4
Mimosa	Built	150 ml	6.0%	7.1 g	0.9	0.5