Put Your Calculator Away. Here's How Many Shots are in a Handle of Liquor

When you're hosting a party, you don't want to pull your best whiskey, tequila, mezcal, and gin from your home bar. No offense to your guests, but it's far more economical to buy a handle of Tito's (among the best cheap vodka brands) or Casamigos (a top pick among cheap tequila). Usually spirits come in standard 750mL bottles; it's among the most popular size for stashing on bar carts and in liquor cabinets. Handles are the big bottles that dwarf them. To save you the momentary panic of fast math at the liquor store, muttering How many shots in a handle?—we've crunched the numbers for you.

In fact, to help you ace your next housewarming or dinner party, we're covering a whole slew of questions. We're sure you know how many mL are in a liter and how many ounces in a shot. But how about how many shots are in a handle? How many milliliters are in a shot? Or how to convert ounces to mL in the first place?

And if you want to know what liquor is worth buying in the first place, check out our roundups of the best vodka for a martini, best bourbons, and best whiskey for old fashioneds.

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What Is a Handle of Liquor?

"Handle" is the nickname for half-gallon bottles of liquor, earned because they usually feature a handle on the side to help carry it. Handles are twice the size of standard 750mL bottles, which are nicknamed fifths.

Handles can be filled with any kind of liquor, whether vodka, tequila, whiskey, or gin. But typically, only popular brands come in handle sizes. Many small batch bourbons, for example, are only available as fifths. It's perhaps more common to ask, How many shots in a handle of vodka? since the clear spirit is the most ubiquitously found in handles.

Related: 32 Best Grocery Store Beers

How Many Ounces Are in a 1.75L Bottle?

A handle contains just under a half-gallon—1.75L, or 59.2oz, of liquor. While the exact calculations come down to decimals, you can generally figure conversions out using rounded numbers.

There are 1,000mL in a liter. Therefore, there are 1,750mL in a handle. Next, there are just under 30mL in an ounce. Divide the total 1,750mL by the 30mL in an ounce, and you get just over 58oz per handle.

Sure, we're a hair under the exact amount because we didn't use all the decimals, but if you ever need a rough estimate, just focus on rounded numbers. Your brain will thank you.

Related: Best Cheap Whiskey of 2024 for a Great Bottle on a Budget

How Many Shots Are in a 1.75L Bottle?

In the U.S., there's no federally mandated shot size. Therefore, it's not clear-cut how many ounces are in a shot, let alone how many shots are in a handle.

It's situational, according to Sother Teague, beverage director of Amor y Amargo in New York and author of I’m Just Here for the Drinks.

"If I'm doing a shot—literally putting in a glass and taking it down—it's going to be an ounce, because that's about all you can fit in your mouth at one time," Teague says.

But if he's making a cocktail—depending on how boozy—that amount can jump. When Teague makes tequila cocktails, for example, he'll use 2oz of liquor because, unlike a shot, which he calls "ephemeral," a marg is meant to be sipped over a longer period of time. But when he crafts a Manhattan, which requires more than just 2oz of liquor, because it includes multiple alcoholic ingredients, the lines are blurry.

When it comes to measuring bottles, though, he concedes to a simple answer: "If someone pointed at a liter bottle, which is 33-and-change ounces, I would say you can get get 33 shots out of there."

Using that same 1oz-per-shot guideline, a handle—which is 1.75L, or 59.2oz—contains approximately 59 shots.

Related: The 11 Best Whiskey Glasses You Can Buy

How to Properly Pour a Shot

If you pour straight from the bottle into a glass, you'll never get the exact amount you're hoping for, and you're probably gonna spill everywhere.

When you go to the bar, all the liquor bottles are topped with a special cap. Those caps, called pour spouts, are designed to cleanly and effectively transfer liquor from the bottle to the glass. Some of them are even made to pour exactly 1oz at a time.

So, if you want to get the most out of your handle—meaning you pour exactly 59 shots, no more, no less—you can buy your own measure pour spouts. How's that for being cost effective?

Automatic 1oz Measured Bottle Pourer (4-pack)