The Weekend Conversion Factor: Price per Drink

At the end of a long day in lab, sometimes it’s nice to unwind with an old friend.  And by old friend, we mean a drink.  But the tough economy (and our tougher stipends) are seriously killing our wallet – and our buzz.  So we figured it’s time to put those analytical skills we’ve been developing for years to good use and find out which drink is actually most affordable.

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0° Celcius = 273.15 Kelvin… 1 calories = 4.18 joules…  There are countless important scientific numbers we should know, but one seems to have eluded our curriculum – the Weekend Conversion Factor, aka Price per Drink.  It’s easy to think in terms of absolute price, particularly when we open our wallet and realize there’s enough for a 12-pack of beer, not a 12-year aged scotch.  But is it really true that beer is really the “cheapest” followed by wine and spirits?  Time to test that hypothesis.

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Experimental Procedure

We realize there is a tremendous range of quality and price to choose from when selecting your beverage.  So for the sake of this comparison, we selected solid name brands that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to offer to a guest (“Can I interest you in a Popov on the rocks?”…).  We’ve also selected the standard 750mL bottles for both wine and spirits.  Therefore, like your motivation in lab, the price per drink will vary depending on the choices you make.  Given the unbelievable selection of wine available, we skipped vineyard selection and simply characterized them as 10, 20 or 30 dollar bottles.  Given that alcohol is usually the most expensive component of a drink, we’ve neglected to include the price of mixers, although they would certainly contribute to the cost.

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Results

To determine price per drink, two important conversion factors are required.  First, 1 milliliter = 0.0338 ounces.  Second, the recommended serving sizes for beer, wine and spirits are 12oz, 5oz and 1.5oz, respectively.  For reference, when playing mixologist at home 1.5oz is the size of a standard shot glass.  As a result, there are five drinks in a bottle of wine and 17 in a bottle of liquor.

Let’s stack them up head-to-head to see what’s really the best deal:

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If You Like Getting Ripped Off, Buy These

One of the fastest ways to drain your wallet is to buy the “nips” or airplane-sized bottles usually behind the register at the liquor store.  While they are great for trying out a new brand or cocktail, they are not great for making rent.  Nips can run over twice the price per drink relative to their larger-bottled siblings.

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Conclusions

Based on these measurements, it looks like our hypothesis was wrong (not the first time that’s happened…).  While it may feel like drinking cocktails is reserved for those who can afford to have their butler pour and mix them, it turns out they are the most cost-effective way to enjoy a drink.  Surprisingly, a $20 bottle of wine costs more per drink than anything else.

So do your wallet a favor- kick back and enjoy the evening with an Old-Fashioned or spirit of your choice- it’s the financially responsible decision…

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