While most kiwis have heard about standard drinks, only a quarter of us can accurately explain what it is. So what you say – why does this matter? Not knowing and understanding what a standard drink is, means you are missing the single most important piece of information we need to stay safe and sociable when we drink. Fear not, knowledge is power, and this article is here to crack the code on “standard drinks.”
Standard Drinks: More Than Just Fancy Talk
Forget any ideas of standard drinks being some kind of conspiracy. They’re actually your best friend when it comes to navigating the world of alcohol. Here’s the deal: a standard drink is a drink containing 10g of pure alcohol. It is set at this level because the average healthy adult human liver can only process approx. 10 g of pure alcohol per hour and there is no way to speed this up. This magic number stays the same no matter what you’re drinking, be it a crisp beer, a fancy glass of wine, or a potent shot of tequila.
Why Standard Drinks Rule?
Think of them as your personal drinking compass. Knowing what a standard drink is and that your body can only process 1 standard drink per hour is the single most important fact you need to know to make smarter drinking choices regardless of what you drink.
So, How Much Alcohol is in a Standard Drink?
A standard drink is 10g of pure alcohol but this is not always one glass, can or bottle. Here is a quick Standard Drinks guide for you to commit to memory but you might also like to check out our Standard Drinks Calculator.
Naturally as the ABV (the strength of the alcohol) goes up the volume of a standard drinks decreases – that is why we can drink 330ml of a 4% beer and only 30ml of a 40% spirit before we hit the 1 standard drink mark, but a standard drink is always 10g of pure alcohol.
Click here to download a poster for the fridge if you want help remembering this in the future.
How Do Standard Drinks Compare By Drink Type?
It is super easy to find out how many standard drinks you are having by checking the label on the back of every bottle or can of alcohol sold in NZ.
This wine label tells us there are 8 standard drinks in the bottle – so it will take your body 8 hours to process the alcohol if you drink this bottle by yourself.
A 12 pack of 5% beers (12x 1.3 stds) on a Saturday night is 15.6 standard drinks or 15.6 hours’ worth of processing. Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it!
But what if you don’t have the label in your hand to look at? What if you’re being served alcohol by someone else? Here are some common drink choices to give you an idea of exactly how much you’re really having if you choose to drink:
A STANDARD FLUTE OF BUBBLES IN A BAR (150ML) = 1.5 STANDARD DRINKS / 1.5 HOURS TO PROCESS
A LARGE WINE (220ML) = 2.2 STANDARD DRINKS / 2.2 HOURS TO PROCESS
A “PINT” OF 5% BEER (500ML) = 2 STANDARD DRINKS / 2 HOURS TO PROCESS
A 1.8L JUG OF 4% BEER = 5.7 STANDARD DRINKS / 5.7 HOURS TO PROCESS
A DOUBLE BOURBON = 1 STANDARD DRINK / 1 HOUR TO PROCESS
A MOJITO = 2 STANDARD DRINKS / 2 HOURS TO PROCESS
The Bottom Line: Standard Drinks – Your Drinking Buddy
By understanding standard drinks and the fact it takes the adult liver 1 hour to process each standard drink, you can finally ditch the guesswork and make smarter drinking choices.
Water, food, medication, your size etc can make you feel the effects of the alcohol differently but they DON’T change the job the liver does. It takes 1 hours to process each standard drink so next time you’re grabbing a drink, take a moment to check the label, figure out how many standard drinks it contains, and pace yourself to last the distance in style.
Remember, the best nights out are the ones where you have fun, stay safe and laugh about the occasion for all the right reasons the next day!. Now go forth, conquer those confusing labels, and enjoy your next drinking occasion!
If you ever need to figure out how many standard drinks you’re really drinking, check out our standard drink calculator here.