Standard Drinks Guide: How Many Are in Your Drink?

Reviewed against Australian Government health sources, October 2026. This page is general information, not medical or legal advice.

An Australian standard drink is any drink that contains 10 grams of pure alcohol (Australian Government Department of Health). A 750 mL bottle of wine holds roughly 6.8 to 8.6 standard drinks for most table wines, and about 8.9 for a 15% red. A full-strength 375 mL can of beer is about 1.4. A 30 mL nip of 40% spirits is about one. The count depends only on how much liquid is in the container and how strong it is, so every row in the tables below states the alcohol by volume (ABV). Find your drink, then use the formula further down for anything not listed.

What is a standard drink?

A standard drink is a measure of alcohol, not a glass, a can or a bottle. In Australia it is defined as 10 grams of pure alcohol (health.gov.au; NHMRC). By volume, that is about 12.7 mL of pure ethanol (10 g divided by 0.789 g/mL, the density of alcohol), which you will often see rounded to 12.5 mL.

The same 10 grams turns up in very different amounts of liquid: roughly a 285 mL glass of full-strength beer, a 100 mL glass of table wine, or a 30 mL nip of spirits. A pint of craft IPA can carry more than two, which is why the glass in your hand and the count on the label are not the same thing.

Packaged alcoholic drinks sold in Australia must state the approximate number of standard drinks they contain on the label. The rule sits in Standard 2.7.1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (Food Standards Code, Standard 2.7.1), which also fixes the 10 g definition at 20°C. For a bottle or can, the label is the most reliable number you will get.

The NHMRC 2020 guideline says healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 on any one day to reduce the risk of harm from alcohol (NHMRC). That is a long-term health-risk ceiling. It is not a driving limit, and it says nothing about whether you are under 0.05. Driving is covered further down this page.

How many standard drinks in a bottle of wine?

A 750 mL bottle of wine contains between about 6.8 and 8.9 standard drinks, depending on its strength. Most Australian table wine sits between 11.5% and 14.5% ABV, and a half-percent change in ABV shifts the bottle count by about 0.3. Table A shows the spread. Figures marked "health.gov.au" are taken from the Australian Government standard drinks guide; rows marked "calculated" use the formula explained later on this page (volume × ABV ÷ 100 × 0.789 ÷ 10) and are rounded to one decimal place.

Table A: standard drinks in wine, by style and ABV

The bigger variable is the glass, which no label covers. The Australian "standard serve" of wine is 100 mL, which is close to one standard drink for most table wines. The average restaurant glass is 150 mL (health.gov.au), which is 1.4 to 1.6 standard drinks depending on the wine. A generous home pour into a large glass can be 200 mL or more, which is about two standard drinks (1.8 to 2.4, depending on the wine) from a single glass.

Check two things on any bottle: the ABV, which varies more than people expect (an 11.5% riesling and a 15% shiraz are about two standard drinks apart per bottle), and the standard drinks statement, which does the arithmetic for you.

How many standard drinks in a beer?

A full-strength beer (4.8% ABV) is about 1.1 standard drinks in a 285 mL glass, 1.4 in a 375 mL can or stubby, and 1.6 in a 425 mL schooner. Mid-strength and light beers carry less. Table B gives every common serve, using the reference strengths published by the Australian Government: full strength 4.8%, mid strength 3.5%, light 2.7%. Note that the NHMRC uses 4.9% as its reference for full-strength beer, which is why its figures can differ by a tenth; the ABV on your can is the one that counts.

Table B: standard drinks in beer, by serve and strength

*health.gov.au lists a mid-strength slab as 24. The formula gives 24.9, so we show 25; the difference is rounding.

Craft beer is where the count climbs quickly. A 6.5% IPA in a schooner is about 2.2 standard drinks, against 1.6 for a schooner of full-strength lager, and plenty of double IPAs sit above 8%. The tap list usually prints the ABV next to the beer name, and the formula later on this page turns that into a count in a few seconds.

Pot, middy, schooner, pint: what the names mean in your state

Australian beer glasses are named differently from state to state, and the same word can mean a different size depending on where you order it. Because standard drinks are set by volume, the name alone does not tell you how much you are drinking. The sizes below are the common pub measures, with the names you are most likely to hear for each.

So "how many standard drinks in a schooner" has two honest answers: about 1.6 for a 425 mL schooner of full-strength beer, and about 1.1 if the schooner in front of you is the South Australian 285 mL glass. When in doubt, go by the millilitres.

Spirits, premix cans, RTDs and cider

A 30 mL nip of 40% spirits is one standard drink, and a 700 mL bottle holds 22. Premixed drinks are where the label matters most, because cans range from 5% to 7% ABV and from 250 mL to 660 mL, so one can is anywhere from one to nearly four standard drinks. Cider sits close to beer, at about one standard drink per 285 mL glass. Table C sets them out.

Table C: standard drinks in spirits, premix, RTDs and cider

Cocktails do not fit in a table because the recipe decides the count. A cocktail can carry two or three nips of spirit, so count the spirit that went into it, not the glass it arrived in. A free pour at home is also rarely a 30 mL nip unless you measure it, which is why spirits are the easiest drink to undercount.

How to work out standard drinks in any drink

Standard drinks = volume (mL) × ABV (%) ÷ 100 × 0.789 ÷ 10.

Volume times strength gives the millilitres of pure alcohol. Multiplying by 0.789 (the density of ethanol in grams per millilitre) converts that to grams, and dividing by 10 gives standard drinks. It is the same formula our BAC calculator uses, and it rests on the Food Standards Code definition of a standard drink as 10 g of ethanol.

Two worked examples:

• A 200 mL pour of 14.5% shiraz. 200 × 14.5 ÷ 100 = 29 mL of alcohol. 29 × 0.789 = 22.9 g. 22.9 ÷ 10 = 2.3 standard drinks from one glass.
• A 425 mL schooner of full strength (4.8%) plus a 285 mL pot of mid strength (3.5%). The schooner is 425 × 4.8 ÷ 100 × 0.789 ÷ 10 = 1.6. The pot is 285 × 3.5 ÷ 100 × 0.789 ÷ 10 = 0.8. Together, 2.4 standard drinks. This is the style of question set in responsible service of alcohol (RSA) and workplace training, and the method is the same for any combination: work out each drink, then add them.

For a packaged drink, read the label instead. Under Standard 2.7.1, the standard drinks statement must be accurate to one decimal place for containers holding 10 standard drinks or fewer (Food Standards Code, Standard 2.7.1). The figure covers the whole container: a bottle marked 8.0 poured into five 150 mL glasses is 1.6 per glass.

Why your glass is usually more than one standard drink

The label is accurate for the container. The count drifts once the drink is poured.

Start with serve size. The 100 mL "standard serve" of wine is a reference measure, and most venues pour more. The average restaurant glass is 150 mL (health.gov.au), and RACV notes that a restaurant pour of a typical Australian shiraz can come to about 1.8 standard drinks (RACV).

Top-ups are the next problem. A glass refilled before it is empty rarely gets counted as a second drink, but two half top-ups add up to another full glass. Big wine glasses make it worse, because 200 mL looks modest in a large bowl. A bottle that pours seven glasses at 100 mL pours fewer than four at 200 mL.

Then there is strength. A 7% craft beer or a 15% red puts noticeably more alcohol in the same glass than a standard-strength drink does, and a cocktail made with two nips is two standard drinks before the mixer goes in.

Two practical habits fix most of this. Check the ABV and the standard drinks statement before you pour, and pour once into a glass you have measured, so you know what 100 mL or 150 mL actually looks like in it.

Standard drinks and driving: why counting isn't enough

Counting standard drinks tells you how much alcohol you have consumed. It does not tell you your blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and BAC is what the law measures. The same three standard drinks produce a different BAC in two people, and in the same person on two different nights, because the result depends on body weight, sex, food, how quickly you drank and how fast your body processes alcohol. No drink count on this page, or any page, puts you under 0.05.

Transport for NSW puts it directly: "Don't risk trying to calculate your BAC… Your BAC is difficult to guess and will likely be inaccurate anyway." (Transport for NSW)

For learner and provisional drivers, and most professional drivers, the limit is zero in every state and territory, so the only count that works is zero drinks. Our guide to the legal alcohol limits in every state covers each licence class.

For full licence holders, three tools give three different kinds of answer. A BAC calculator uses your drinks, weight, sex and time to produce an estimate, and an estimate is all it is. A personal breathalyser measures the alcohol in your breath and gives an indicative reading of where you are right now, which is more useful than a count but not the figure a court will see. The evidential instruments police use are a different class of device, operated under their own rules, and their reading is the one that counts.

The morning after follows the same logic. Alcohol leaves the body at its own pace, so a late night can still register the next day; our guide to how long alcohol stays in your system explains the timelines. If you have been drinking and you are unsure, do not drive.

Standard drinks FAQ

How many standard drinks are in a glass of wine?

A 100 mL glass of table wine is about one standard drink; a 150 mL restaurant glass is 1.4 to 1.6, depending on the wine's strength (1.4 for an 11.5% white, 1.6 for a 13.5% red, and 1.8 for a 15% red, calculated).

Is a can of beer one standard drink?

No. A 375 mL can of full-strength beer (4.8%) is about 1.4 standard drinks. A mid-strength can (3.5%) is 1.0, and a light can (2.7%) is 0.8 (health.gov.au). Only the mid-strength can comes close to one.

How many standard drinks are in a bottle of spirits?

A 700 mL bottle of spirits at 40% ABV contains 22 standard drinks (health.gov.au). That is about 23 nips of 30 mL. Each nip is just under one standard drink (0.95 when calculated), which is why the bottle comes to 22 rather than 23.

How many standard drinks are in a 4 litre cask of wine?

About 43 for a 4 litre cask of red wine at 13.5% ABV, or about 21 for a 2 litre cask (health.gov.au). A cask at a lower ABV holds proportionally fewer: the number printed on the cask is the one to use.

Is an Australian standard drink the same as a UK unit or a US drink?

No. An Australian standard drink is 10 g of pure alcohol. A UK unit is 8 g (NHS) and a US "standard drink" is about 14 g (NIAAA), so the same bottle shows a different count in each country: a bottle of 13.5% red that is 8 Australian standard drinks is about 10 UK units. Use the Australian figure on the label when counting here.

How many standard drinks can I have and still drive?

There is no number that guarantees you are under the limit, and for learner, provisional and most professional drivers the limit is zero. If you are a full licence holder, the BAC calculator gives an estimate and our state-by-state limits guide explains which limit applies to you.

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Personal breathalysers and calibration

Australia Breathalyser is a Melbourne-based supplier of breath alcohol testers for personal, workplace and industrial use. If you want an indicative reading rather than a tally of glasses, our personal breathalysers are the place to start, and our calibration service keeps a device reading accurately over time. Call us on 1300 103 003 if you would like help choosing one.

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Sources (accessed October 2026):

• Australian Government Department of Health, Standard drinks guide: health.gov.au/topics/alcohol/about-alcohol/standard-drinks-guide
• National Health and Medical Research Council, Alcohol: nhmrc.gov.au/health-advice/alcohol
• Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Standard 2.7.1 (Labelling of alcoholic beverages and food containing alcohol): legislation.gov.au/F2015L00469
• Transport for NSW, Alcohol and drugs factsheet (December 2022): towardszero.nsw.gov.au (PDF factsheet)
• RACV, Drinking and BAC explained: racv.com.au/royalauto/transport/vic-road-rule-guides/drinking-bac-explained.html
• NHS, Calculating alcohol units: nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (US), What is a standard drink?: niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/what-standard-drink