Whence the Fifth (1/5 gal.; i.e. 750 mL) liquor bottle?

[toadspittle]

While doing research on NYS liquor laws (for this thread http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=290556 ), I saw that a consistent restriction for many distillery licenses was that the containers in which the produced liquor was to be transported/sold be no larger than 1 quart in size.

This got me thinking … was the reason that the fifth-gallon bottle became the standard rather than the more common (for other fluids) quart because of similar laws restricting maximum container size for liquor to one quart? Hence, a fifth-gallon bottle would provide a comfortable margin so that the manufacturer would not be challenged by picky regulators?

Or is its origin something else entirely?

[toadspittle]

Related sidetrack: what’s the origin of the usage “shot” for a small measure of liquor to be consumed in one gulp? My wife came home one day having heard the story that, in the Old West, a bullet and a shot of whiskey cost the same, and the former were often traded to bartenders for the latter. But this sounds like folk etymology to me. Any OEDers?

[Tapioca_Dextrin]

This site claims

When glass bottle became popular towards the end of the 17th century their size depended much on the lung capacity of the glass blower, The 750 ml became more or less standard because this size represents the average lung capacity of a glass blower

This site, however, claims

How did the wine bottle come to be 75 cL in size? It has a long and complicated history but, briefly, in the 1600’s when bottles were made by hand, the wine bottle was about 46.24 cubic inches (26 and two-thirds fluid ounces) in capacity, a measure which was known as a ‘reputed quart’. This came from being one-quarter of a wine gallon which was the size of 8 troy pounds of wine. (Wine by the pound!) Metrication trimmed one and a half teaspoonsful off this to make it 75cL.

[Popup]

It is also interresting to note that in Europe wine bottles are always 750ml (and multiples thereof), whereas stronger spirits are sold in bottles of 700ml (and multiples thereof).

[psycat90]

The origin of the 750 ml bottle does date back to the 1600’s as noted by Tapioca Dextrin.

The standardization of the size didn’t occur (in the US) until 1979.

From TTB’s website:

The Federal Alcohol Administration Act (27 USC § 205(e)) authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to regulate the bottle sizes for wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 USC § 5301) likewise authorizes regulations regarding the kind and size of containers for distilled spirits. Distilled spirits regulations allow for several standards of fill (27 CFR § 5.47a). Wine regulations also authorize several standards of fill (27 CFR § 4.73). Malt beverage regulations do not currently prescribe standards of fill, but do address net contents statements on labels (27 CFR § 7.27).

The purpose of the standards of fill provisions is to prevent a proliferation of bottle sizes and shapes which would inevitably result in consumer confusion and deception with regard to the quantity and net contents of the alcohol beverage package. The uniformity in bottle sizes required by these standards also facilitates the proper calculation of Federal excise tax.

[psycat90]

So, in a nutshell, the 700-800 ml size was already being used as a ‘loose standard.’ The US (and EU followed almost immediately) chose the 750 ml size as a push closer to the metric system, as well as to prevent consumer confusion.

[RealityChuck]

750 millimeters was one thing; the fifth is another.

Before and immediately after Prohibition, hard liquor in the US was sold in quarts. However, as prices went up in the 30s (and people had less money), distillers did what others have done before and since: they sold less product for the same price (take a look at your average supermarket ice cream container these days). So instead of selling liquor by the quarter gallon, the sold it by the fifth of a gallon and the fifth was born. The OED has the origin of the term as 1938, which fits.

Related sidetrack: what’s the origin of the usage “shot” for a small measure of liquor to be consumed in one gulp? My wife came home one day having heard the story that, in the Old West, a bullet and a shot of whiskey cost the same, and the former were often traded to bartenders for the latter. But this sounds like folk etymology to me. Any OEDers?

OED has an origin as from 1928, long after the Old West was tamed. The word was also used c 1676 with a similar meaning, but it was obsolete by the 19th century.

[samclem]

@RealityChuck

750 millimeters was one thing; the fifth is another.

Before and immediately after Prohibition, hard liquor in the US was sold in quarts. However, as prices went up in the 30s (and people had less money), distillers did what others have done before and since: they sold less product for the same price (take a look at your average supermarket ice cream container these days). So instead of selling liquor by the quarter gallon, the sold it by the fifth of a gallon and the fifth was born. The OED has the origin of the term as 1938, which fits.

OED has an origin as from 1928, long after the Old West was tamed. The word was also used c 1676 with a similar meaning, but it was obsolete by the 19th century.

From *
the Stevens Point(WI) Journal*, 12 September, 1928:

"Seventy-five of these were 36 bottle cases of Carlings ale, for which thirsty Milwaukeeans are said to pay $1 a bottle.

A hundred cases were filled with quarts and fifths of whiskey. John Haig, John Dewar, Gold Label, Green Stripe, and Old Warden Rye were some of the brands included in the find."

So, the term was out there before prohibition ended. Not common, as I had trouble finding much that early. But, my cite would suggest that it didn’t just appear after prohibition as a way to sell less for the same price.