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The strength map

Strength in numbers.

How strong a drink tastes and how much alcohol it actually contains aren't the same thing. Below we've plotted every drink in the catalog on both axes.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 20% 0.8 oz Deceptively boozy Big & boozy Easy sipping Short & strong Intensity — how strong it drinks (ABV %) → Dose — ethanol in the glass (oz) → 3 4 6 8 12
Computed from our recipes, with each ingredient at its typical strength. No cocktail has one precise number — the preparation, brands used, and dilution all affect it. These numbers are a guide.

Big & boozy · 97

Most of the famous drinks live here. The Manhattan, the Negroni, the Margarita, the Martini — mostly spirit, with a full measure of it in the glass. Pace yourself accordingly.

Deceptively boozy · 23

The reason this map exists. These drink like refreshers — fruit, soda, plenty of ice — but a Long Island Iced Tea or a Painkiller contains as much alcohol as a Martini.

Short & strong · 28

High proof in a small glass. An Old Fashioned or a Cosmopolitan is unquestionably strong, but the pour is short — less total alcohol than most of the tall drinks on this map.

Easy sipping · 83

Lower proof and a lighter total. Spritzes, highballs, and the rest of the long refreshers — the Aperol Spritz, the Gin & Tonic, the Mojito. Built for having more than one.

Non-alcoholic NA Non-Alcoholic · 24 Zero on both axes — 24 real drinks that sit this map out entirely. Find me a cocktail Can't decide? Six questions, one recommendation — strength included.

How the map is measured

Intensity

Alcohol as a share of the whole drink — ABV. A Martini runs in the high thirties; a highball sits near ten. This is the strength you taste.

Dose

Ounces of pure alcohol (ethanol) in the glass, whatever it's mixed into. A tall fruity drink can carry as much as a stirred classic. This is the strength that adds up.

Both numbers come from the recipe as written — the undiluted build. Dilution, brand strength, and how heavy you pour all change the real figure, so read these as honest estimates, not lab results. For what dilution does to a drink, see Shake or stir; for the drinks themselves, see the catalog.