Introduction
An alternative way to taste and enjoy good wine, rum, vodka, or your favorite liquor is shots instead of the traditional glasses. The use of shots has become very common in young or early consumers.
It is very common to be in a bar and hear someone ask for “a shot of tequila” or “a shot of rum.” It is an attractive and straightforward way to have a drink. The “tequila shots” are also very well known. Drank with a sip of lemon and salt.
On the other hand, the pint is another widely used measure for the production of beverages and products, especially in countries with historical ties to the British Empire.
Both terms are part of the bartender’s vocabulary in terms of measures. As well as the terms “pinch,” “dash,” “cup,” or “part.”
What is a shot?
We will talk about the concept of shot and pint as measurement units. Also, their uses, some examples, and the equivalences in measure between a shot and a pint.
The concept of shot uses and how to avoid confusing shots with a jigger.
The shot is a cocktail measure equivalent to 30 ml or one fluid ounce. An exact shot measurement can be obtained using the well-known glasses of the same name.
These vessels have a cylindrical shape. About between 5 and 6 cm or 2 inches high, and have a slight angle making the mouth more expansive than the base. It is very common for these glasses to have a thick base since the glass is stabilized.
Shot examples
Generally, the liquor in a shot is ingested in a single drink. In its use to make cocktails, the shots are used to give particular touches of flavor to each cocktail whose base is made up of another liquor or liquid.
Some examples of these cases are the shots of a distillate. That is, they are drinks made by a single measure such as gin, rum, whiskey, or vodka. And shot bombs, which are drinks where a shot glass is dropped into a larger glass. The latter can be served in an energy drink or beer. An example of these is the Jaggerbomb. It is a mix of Jagermeister and Red Bull.
Shot vs jigger
It is widespread to confuse the “shot” measure with the “jigger” measure. Despite being very similar in terms of the form or way of measuring using a small glass, the amount of both varies.
The shot equals 30 ml or one fluid ounce. The jigger equals 45 ml or 1.5 fluid ounces.
They are very similar measurements, but sometimes many bartenders ignore this difference since the alcohol measurements don’t need to be exact when making drinks. It is nevertheless important to know how to differentiate one from the other.
Concept of the pint
American vs British
Leaving aside the term “shot,” we will talk about the pint. Pint is an English unit of volume in the imperial system widely used in the United States.
The imperial version used in the UK is 20 ounces (568 ml), while in the United States, the pint is equal to 16 fluid ounces, which are equivalent to 473.17 ml.
This difference is because, in 1824, the British Decree of Weights and Measures standardized various measures of liquids throughout the British Empire. Still, in the United States, the previous English measure continued to be used. Currently, the countries that were part of the British Empire, such as Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, changed the imperial system for the international metric system in the 60s and 70s. So while the term “pint” is widely used in this country, its use does not refer to the imperial “pint” used when they were part of the British Empire.
Because most countries do not use American or British imperial units, and most countries are not English-speaking, a “pint” served in a bar or tavern can be measured by other standards.
Pint in other countries
Commonwealth countries could use the British imperial pint (568 ml). In countries where many tourists from the United States are received, a “pint” would be 473 ml. In comparison, in other countries, a pint would be half a liter or 500 ml. And other places, it could be another measure according to your national and local customs and laws.
For example: in India, a pint equals 330 ml. The South Australian pint equals 425 ml, while the Australian pint is 570 ml. Other examples are the royal pint (from France) which equals 952 ml. The Canadian pint is 1136 ml, and the Scottish pint equals 1696 ml.
There is also a United States measure called “dry pint, ” equivalent to 1/8 of a US gallon or 550 ml. However, this measure is not very common and is little used.
How many shots are in a pint?
So, we are finally finding an answer for our title: how many shots in a pint?
As we mentioned earlier, a shot equals one fluid oz. Starting from the consideration that if you are in a place where American standards prevail, an American pint would be equal to 16 shots.
On the other hand, if you’re in a place where British imperial standards prevail (whether you’re in the UK or a Commonwealth country), a pint would equal 20 shots.
In conclusion
We have to say that depending on where you are in the world. If you want to go to a bar and have a few shots of your favorite drink, the number of shots you will have from a pint of liquor will vary due to the assumptions of this last measure in the country you are located.
Independent if you are in UK, France, Australia, the USA, or any other country, the measurement of a pint will always be different in each one of them.