The World's Mandatory Bottle Sizes - Difford's Guide

The global standard bottle size for wines, spirits and liqueurs emerged as 75cl (750ml). In North America and much of the world it still is. However, in 1990 the European Union (EU) introduced a ridiculous piece of legislation which complicated this by dictating that spirit and liqueur bottles have to be 70cl while wine and soft drink bottles remain 75cl. Follows our guide to standard bottle sizes

Bottle size legislation

Overly complicated and restrictive legislation forces EU spirits producers to produce 70cl bottles for the EU market and 75cl bottles for export to North America so making it expensive for boutique distillers to export. Obviously the same is true for North American distillers wanting to make their products available in the E.U.

In November 2002 a European Commission working paper concluded that the EU is over-regulated regarding pack sizes so limiting consumer choice.

The USA mandatory spirits bottle sizes are (since 1 January 1980):

50 ml100 ml200 ml375 ml500 ml (authorized for bottling until June 30, 1989)750 ml1,000 ml1,750 ml

The European Union mandatory spirits bottle sizes are (since 1 January 1990):

100 ml200 ml350 ml500 ml700 ml1,000 ml1,500 ml1,750 ml2,000 ml

Spirits & Liqueur Bottle Sizes

Small miniature EU = 20mlStandard miniature = 50mlEighth = 100mlQuarter (AKA: piccolo pony, snipe or split) = 200mlHalf bottle EU = 350mlHalf bottle USA = 375mlHalf litre (AKA: Jennie) EU = 500mlStandard bottle EU = 700mlStandard bottle USA = 750mlQuart USA = 946.35mlLitre bottle = 1,000mlMagnum = 1,500ml (equivalent to 2 x 75cl)Half gallon USA (descriptive rather than accurate) = 1,750mlJeroboam = 3,000ml (equivalent to 4 x 75cl)

Wine & Champagne Bottle Sizes

Eighth = 100ml Quarter (AKA: piccolo pony, snipe or split) = 18.75 cl Half bottle EU = 375mlHalf litre wine = 500mlStandard bottle = 750mlQuart USA = 946.35mlLitre bottle = 1,000mlMagnum = 1,500ml (equivalent to 2 x 75cl)Half gallon USA (descriptive rather than accurate) = 1.75LMarie Jeanne or Tregnum or Tappit Hen = 2,250 (equivalent to 3 x 75cl)Jeroboam = 3,000ml (equivalent to 4 x 75cl)Four litre USA = 4,000mlRehoboam EU = 4,500ml (equivalent to 6 x 75cl)Five litre USA = 5,000mlMethuselah 0r Imperial = 6,000ml (equivalent to 8 x 75cl)Seven litre USA = 7,000mlEight litre USA = 8,000mlSalmanazar or Mordechai = 9,000ml (equivalent to 12 x 75cl)Ten litre USA = 10,000mlBalthazar = 12,000ml (equivalent to 16 x 75cl)Nebuchadnezzar = 15,000ml (equivalent to 20 x 75cl)Solomon or Salomon or Melchior = 18,000 (equivalent 24 x 75cl) Primat (pronounced 'Pree-mah') or Goliath = 27,000 (equivalent 36 x 75cl)Melchizedek or Midas = 30,000 (equivalent to 40 x 75cl)

• Home
• Beer, Wine & Spirits
• Bottle Sizes – the world's mandatory bottle sizes

Share Subscribe