Which drink pairs contain the same amount of alcohol?

• A. One beer and two glasses of wine
• B. Four beers
• C. Two twelve-ounce beers and eight ounces of wine
• D. Two cocktails and one beer

Answer: (C)

Alcohol content depends on both how much you drink and how strong it is. A standard way to compare drinks is to think in terms of total pure alcohol, not just volume. Two twelve-ounce beers at a typical 5% ABV contain about 2 × 12 × 0.05 = 1.2 ounces of pure alcohol. Eight ounces of wine at roughly 15% ABV contain 8 × 0.15 = 1.2 ounces of pure alcohol. So, these two amounts deliver the same total amount of alcohol, even though the beverages look different. The other options involve different totals because either the number of drinks or their strength would not match that 1.2-ounce total, given common ABV values.