This BAC calculator estimates your blood alcohol content percentage according to what you drank and tells you if you are over the legal limit in your country. Read more on this subject and discover the most common alcoholic concentrations in the tables below the form.
How does this BAC Calculator work?
This is a calculator designed to estimate the blood alcohol content (BAC) after ingesting alcohol. It offers two methods to calculate this level and both of them compare to the maximum BAC legal limit allowed depending on the country specified in the form. What you need to note is that BAC varies depending on a wide range of factors such as your metabolism, gender, food intake, hydration or kidney function and although the BAC calculator can be specific, there are many personal factors that can modify the result and that you need to take in consideration. Therefore the results displayed cannot be used as legal advice.
The first method
... allows you to determine an approximate BAC by specifying the following data:
- Country – select the country from the drop down list provided with the following values: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Other Country;
- Max. BAC legal limit – is the maximum legal limit percentage of BAC allowed. Even though this percentage is provided based on the selection of the country, it is still editable in case the BAC level changes over time. So the maximum legal limit allowed can be changed by the users;
- Your gender – select the gender from the drop down list provided with Male and Female;
- Your weight – input the weight expressed either in pounds (lbs) or kilograms (kg);
- 4 lines comprising of different alcoholic beverage categories: Beer, Wine, Cocktail or Liquor. Each line has 3 fields to complete, the first in a dropdown where you can select the specific type of beverage, the second is the ABV % which is automatic according to the drink selected but can also be edited if the user considers it necessary. The last field is the one where you input the number of drinks consumed. You can find the drinks selected in the tables below.
- Please note that at least one drink type should be selected and at least one no. of drinks should be specified, otherwise the tool cannot perform the BAC calculation.
- Elapsed time – is the time that passed from the moment you started to drink, or in some other words for how long you have been drinking.
| Beer type | ABV Percentage | Ounces per beer |
| Samuel Adams Boston | 4.80 | 12 |
| Budweiser | 5.00 | 12 |
| Blue Moon | 5.40 | 12 |
| Bud Light | 4.20 | 12 |
| Corona Extra | 4.60 | 12 |
| Coors Light | 4.20 | 12 |
| Coors | 5.00 | 12 |
| Miller Lite | 4.20 | 12 |
| Natural Light | 4.20 | 12 |
| Busch Light | 4.20 | 12 |
| Busch | 4.60 | 12 |
| Michelob Ultra | 4.20 | 12 |
| Miller Light | 4.20 | 12 |
| Keystone Light | 4.20 | 12 |
| Natural Ice | 5.90 | 12 |
| Ice House | 5.00 | 12 |
| Pabst Blue Ribbon | 5.00 | 12 |
| Bud Ice Light | 4.10 | 12 |
| Yuengling Traditional | 4.40 | 12 |
| Bud Light Platinum | 6.00 | 12 |
| Steel Reserve | 8.10 | 12 |
| Other beer | 5.50 | 12 |
| Wine type | ABV Percentage | Ounces per wine glass |
| Wine (8) | 10.00 | 5 |
| Wine (10) | 8.00 | 5 |
| Wine (12) | 12.00 | 5 |
| Wine (15) | 15.00 | 5 |
| Cocktail type | ABV Percentage | Ounces per cocktail glass |
| Sex on the beach | 11.40 | 7.5 |
| White Russian | 12.00 | 4.2 |
| Margarita | 25.00 | 3 |
| Vodka & Orange | 18.00 | 7 |
| Rum & Coke | 13.30 | 12 |
| Caipirinha | 30.00 | 4.5 |
| Long Island Iced Tea | 27.10 | 7 |
| Martini | 37.30 | 3 |
| Cosmopolitan | 20.00 | 3 |
| Mojito | 11.70 | 6 |
| Pina Colada | 10.00 | 6.7 |
| Mint Julep | 40.00 | 4.5 |
| Daiquiri | 30.00 | 3 |
| Tequila Sunrise | 7.40 | 4.5 |
| Manhattan | 35.00 | 3 |
| Bloody Mary | 12.40 | 8 |
| Black Russian | 10.00 | 5 |
| Mai Tai | 17.70 | 4.5 |
| Gin tonic | 11.40 | 7 |
| Other Cocktail | 15.00 | 4.5 |
| Liquor / Shot type | ABV Percentage | Ounces per liqour / shot glass |
| Rum | 45 | 1.5 |
| Gin | 45 | 1.5 |
| Absinth | 65 | 1.5 |
| Whisky | 43 | 1.5 |
| Scotch | 60 | 1.5 |
| Vodka | 40 | 1.5 |
| Tequila | 40 | 1.5 |
| Jagermeister | 35 | 1.5 |
| Other Liquor / Shot | 35 | 1.5 |
Example calculation method 1:
Country: US
Max BAC legal limit: 0.08
Gender: Male
Weight: 189 lbs
Beer: 12oz, 4.6%, no: 4
Wine: - oz, - %
Cocktail: - oz, - %
Liquor/Shot: Tequila, 1.5oz, 40%, no: 2
Drinking for: 5 hours
Result: Blood Alcohol percentage BAC % = 0.058; Your BAC % is smaller than the specified maximum BAC % legal limit of 0.08%, for the country you selected. That means you are not legally impaired. Still, please note that this is a rough estimation on your BAC %. In general, please consider that driving under the influence of alcohol is not recommended at all. That is a recommendation for your own safety and for the safety of others.
The second method
... is less specific and allows you to customize the input data more. You start by specifying the country and the maximum BAC legal limit, again you can modify the later if there are changes in time. You also have to input your gender and weight, the second by using either the English or the Metric measurement units for your convenience. Then there is the field where you input for how long you have been drinking.
There are four lines for the categories of alcoholic beverages but in this method you are asked to specify the quantity of alcohol expressed in ounces and the ABV% alongside. Please note that again at least one drink type quantity should be specified and at least one alcohol by volume percentage (ABV %) needs to be specified.
Example calculation method 2:
Country: United Kingdom
Max BAC legal limit: 0.08
Gender: Female
Weight: 124lbs
Drinking for: 80 minutes
Beer: - oz, -%
Wine: 15oz, 16%
Cocktail: 4oz, 25%
Liquor/Shot:- oz,- %
Result:
■ Blood Alcohol percentage BAC % = 0.227;
■ THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE: Your BAC % is greater than the specified maximum BAC % legal limit of 0.08%, for the country you selected. Based on this data you are legally impaired, so you are advised not to drive. In general, please consider that driving under the influence of alcohol is not recommended at all. This is a recommendation for your own safety and for the safety of others.
Result interpretation
No matter of the BAC calculation method used, the tool will return two bullet points as stated below:
First bullet point presents the BAC percentage according to Widmark’s formula;
The DUI status by comparing the BAC % obtained by Widmark’s formula with the maximum BAC percentage legal limit allowed depending on the country specified or depending on the values specified within max. legal limit field.
Please note once again that the results provided by this tool are NOT LEGAL ADVICE and they do not replace any professional advice and should be treated as a rough estimation.
What are the most commons drinks and their standard ounces?
When trying to calculate the BAC, the standardization of fluid ounces consumed is very important. The same is applicable when speaking about alcohol by volume percentage.
Regarding the fluid ounces consumed, the fluid ounces rates for the common types of drinks are:
- One beer is around 12 ounces (oz.)
- One wine glass is around 5 oz.
- One cocktail is usually around 4 oz.
- One shot is around 1.5 oz.
Regarding the alcohol percentage in beverage for 3 common drinks:
- One beer has between 4-4.5% alcohol;
- One wine glass has between 15-20% alcohol;
- One shot has between 30-50% alcohol.
But you can also use the tables above for reference if the drink label is not available.
19 Mar, 2015