How much is a serving of sake?

Sake has its own traditional measures, and they don't line up neatly with a wine glass or a pint. Here's what a serving of sake looks like in Japan, how it translates into US standard drinks, and how to enjoy it at an easy pace. We show the math for every number so you can check it yourself.

The go: sake's traditional measure

The classic unit for sake is the go, about 180 mL, or a little over 6 US fluid ounces. It comes from an old Japanese system of volume, and it still shapes how sake is sold and served today:

Measure	Volume	Where you see it
1 go	about 180 mL (6 fl oz)	A standard serving, a masu box, many tokkuri flasks
4 go	about 720 mL	The yongobin, a common bottle size
10 go (1 sho)	about 1.8 L	The isshobin, the big bottle you see behind sake bars

If you've seen 720 mL and 1.8 L bottles and wondered why sake doesn't come in 750 mL like wine, this is why: they're 4 go and 10 go. Our Sakura bottle is a 720 mL yongobin, and our can holds exactly one go, 180 mL.

Tokkuri, ochoko, and masu

In a Japanese restaurant, sake usually arrives in a small ceramic flask called a tokkuri. Tokkuri come in different sizes, but one go (180 mL) and two go (360 mL) are the most common.

From the tokkuri you pour into an ochoko, a small cup. Ochoko vary a lot, but most hold somewhere around 30 to 60 mL (1 to 2 fl oz). That small size is the point: you pour a little, sip it, and top up your friends' cups as you go, so a single go is shared over a meal and lasts a while. The custom of pouring for each other is covered in sake etiquette.

A masu is a square wooden box that traditionally held one go. Today it's mostly used for a celebratory pour, sometimes with a glass inside it.

For chilled premium sake, many bars now use a wine glass instead, often with a pour of 90 to 120 mL (3 to 4 fl oz). See the best glass for sake for more.

What counts as a standard drink in the US

In the United States, one standard drink is any drink that contains 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is about 0.6 fl oz (about 17.7 mL) of alcohol. To work out how much sake that is, you need the ABV:

Sake volume for one standard drink = 17.7 mL ÷ ABV

Sake strength	One standard drink is about
12% ABV (like WESAKE)	17.7 ÷ 0.12 = 148 mL (5 fl oz)
14.5% ABV (like our Sakura bottle)	17.7 ÷ 0.145 = 122 mL (4.1 fl oz)
15% ABV (typical sake)	17.7 ÷ 0.15 = 118 mL (4 fl oz)
16% ABV (typical sake)	17.7 ÷ 0.16 = 111 mL (3.75 fl oz)
18% ABV (some undiluted genshu)	17.7 ÷ 0.18 = 98 mL (3.3 fl oz)

Most sake lands between 15 and 16% ABV, so a standard drink is roughly a 4 oz pour. For more on strength, see how strong is sake.

The math for the can and the bottle

Here's the full calculation for our two sakes. Alcohol weighs about 0.789 grams per mL.

The can (180 mL, 12% ABV)

• Alcohol: 180 mL × 0.12 = 21.6 mL
• In grams: 21.6 × 0.789 = about 17 g
• Standard drinks: 17 ÷ 14 = about 1.2

The Sakura bottle (720 mL, 14.5% ABV)

• Alcohol: 720 mL × 0.145 = 104.4 mL
• In grams: 104.4 × 0.789 = about 82 g
• Standard drinks: 82 ÷ 14 = about 5.9 for the whole bottle

That makes the bottle a sharing size. Poured into wine glasses at about 4 fl oz (118 mL) each, it gives roughly six glasses, each close to one standard drink (118 × 0.145 × 0.789 = about 13.5 g).

A traditional go of typical sake (180 mL, 15% ABV)

• 180 × 0.15 × 0.789 = about 21 g, or about 1.5 standard drinks

So one go of regular-strength sake holds a bit more alcohol than our can, because most sake is stronger than 12%.

A serving at a comfortable pace

Sake is made for sipping with food, not for rushing. A few habits keep it that way:

• Pour small. The tokkuri and ochoko tradition exists for a reason: little pours, refilled slowly, spread over a meal.
• Eat with it. Sake is a food drink first. See our sake food pairing guide for ideas.
• Keep water on the table. In Japan, water served alongside sake is called yawaragi-mizu, "softening water". Alternate sips.
• Count in standard drinks, not containers. A can, a tokkuri, and a glass can all hold different amounts. The table above helps.
• Know your own limits and local guidance, and never drink and drive.

The can makes this easy, because the serving is already measured: one go, one can, about 1.2 standard drinks. Pour it into a glass and sip it slowly, or share one between two small glasses. Read more in how to drink sake.

Quick answers

How many ounces is a serving of sake? Traditionally one go, about 6 fl oz (180 mL), shared in small cups. For one US standard drink of typical 15% sake, about 4 fl oz.

How many glasses are in a 720 mL bottle? About six 4 oz glasses.

Is a can of sake one serving? A 180 mL can is one traditional go. At 12% ABV, it's about 1.2 US standard drinks.

To see the can and the bottle side by side, visit our sake.