# 1 serving of X has the same alcohol content as Y and Z

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-serving-of-x-has-the-same-alcohol-content-as-y-and-z/242225>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 27, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-serving-of-x-has-the-same-alcohol-content-as-y-and-z/242225 "2004-04-27T03:45:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-serving-of-x-has-the-same-alcohol-content-as-y-and-z/242225/1 "2004-04-27T03:45:24Z")

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So, I’ve been told since Junior High that 12 oz. of beer has the same alcholic value as 8 oz. of wine and the same as a shot of…choose your poison. These also happen to, AFAIK, be the standard serving sizes for their respective drinks (OK, maybe pints for beer being 16 oz IIRC). My question is: is the fact that these standard serving sizes have essentially the same alcoholic content a coiincidence, or was this somehow planned (much to the delight of Drivers’ ed instructors everywhere)? Perhaps its a generalization that just happens to work nicely.

Of course, we know that not all the drinks are absorbed/affect people in the same ways, so no need to get into that necessarily. Also, obviously different brands in the same class will have different levels (i.e. the Polish vodka that evaporates if you leave the cap off will be more alcholic than Johnny Walker Red, etc.).

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**Author:** ![Sam\_I\_Am](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sam\_I\_Am](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_I_Am)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-serving-of-x-has-the-same-alcohol-content-as-y-and-z/242225/2 "2004-04-27T03:56:24Z")

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It is for the most part planned (according to the International Center for Alcohol Policies [ICAP pdf](http://www.icap.org/pdf/report5.pdf)

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**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-serving-of-x-has-the-same-alcohol-content-as-y-and-z/242225/3 "2004-04-27T10:29:15Z")

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**Sam I Am** ’s link shows how much the standard drink varies from country to country, so things vary. I think the standards have evolved less from a public health standpoint than from just giving equal value. Half a dozen of one, six of the other, pick your poison.