- Europe and the UK pour 70cl because the EU harmonised spirits sizes in 1990; North America kept the 750 ml that replaced the American fifth in 1980.
- The two lists finally overlap: the US has accepted 700 ml since December 2020 and added 500 ml and 1.5 l in January 2025, so one bottle can now serve London, Berlin and New York.
- Japan's 720 ml and 1.8 l come from sake and shochu; Canada's 1.14 l, India's 750 ml "quart" and 180 ml "nip" are imperial ghosts in metric clothes.
- For a UK launch, 70cl is the shelf standard, 1 l is the volume format for mainstream brands, 50cl and 35cl suit premium and gifting, and 5cl miniatures are free of the size rules.
Why the Atlantic splits at 50 ml
Until the 1970s nearly everyone sold spirits in a bottle derived from a fifth of a US gallon, about 757 ml, or from the British quart and its fractions. Metrication tidied that up in two directions. The United States replaced the fifth with 750 ml in 1980 and wrote a short list of permitted sizes into federal law. The European Community went the other way in 1990, fixing 700 ml as the mandatory size for spirits in the 100 ml to 2 l range, while leaving wine at 750 ml. The 50 ml gap between the two standards has shaped export costs for thirty years: a European brand selling in America needed a separate 750 ml bottle run, label, case and pallet pattern, and vice versa.
What the rules say today
| Market | Rule | Spirits sizes (ml) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Prescribed (100 ml to 2 l) | 100, 200, 350, 500, 700, 1000, 1500, 1750, 2000 | Kept after Brexit. Below 100 ml (miniatures) and above 2 l are free. Wine 750 ml list. |
| EU | Prescribed (100 ml to 2 l) | 100, 200, 350, 500, 700, 1000, 1500, 1750, 2000 | Directive 2007/45/EC. Shochu allowed at 720 and 1800 ml. |
| United States | Standards of fill (26) | 50, 100, 187, 200, 250, 331, 350, 355, 375, 475, 500, 570, 700, 710, 720, 750, 900, 945, 1000, 1500, 1750, 1800, 2000, 3000, 3750 | Seven new in 2020, fifteen more from January 2025. Cans now follow the same list. |
| Japan | Traditional sizes | 720 and 1800 common; 700 and 750 both sold | The 720 ml (four go) and 1.8 l (issho) bottles come from sake and shochu; the EU made an exception for them in 2018. |
| Canada | Prescribed sizes for wine; spirits conventions | 750 and 1140 ml dominate, with 375 and 1750 | The 1.14 l "40-ouncer" is a Canadian habit from imperial days. Check the federal regulations for the current list. |
| Australia and New Zealand | No prescribed sizes | 700 ml standard, 1 l in travel retail | Metric since the 1970s; the 700 ml bottle followed Europe. |
| South Africa | No prescribed sizes | 750 ml standard | Follows the 750 ml convention of the Americas. |
| India | Excise conventions by state | 750 ("quart"), 375 ("pint"), 180 ("nip") | Names survive from imperial measures; sizes are metric. |
The US list, before and after
The TTB's standards of fill were seven sizes for decades: 50, 100, 200, 375, 750 ml, 1 l and 1.75 l. In December 2020 it added 700 ml, 720 ml, 900 ml and 1.8 l, along with 200 ml and 355 ml formats for cans, largely to admit European and Japanese bottles without repackaging. In January 2025 it added fifteen more and removed the separate list for cans, so 500 ml, 1.5 l, 2 l and the odd 331 ml and 945 ml are now all legal. The practical result for a UK or EU brand is that the 70cl bottle you already run can go to the US with a new label and a COLA, not a new mould.
What a size does to duty and price
Because UK duty is charged on pure alcohol, size changes the duty in proportion: a 70cl at 40% carries £9.52, a litre £13.60, a 50cl £6.80 and a 5cl miniature £0.68. Price per centilitre rarely scales the same way. On the UK's biggest marketplace the litre bottle of a mainstream gin or vodka sells for £18 to £25, which is cheaper per centilitre than the 70cl of the same brand at £16 to £22. That is why our weekly leaderboard is full of litres: the format that looks dearer on the shelf is the better value, and shoppers have worked that out.
| Size | Pure alcohol at 40% | UK duty 2026 | Typical mainstream price | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5cl miniature | 0.02 l | £0.68 | £2 to £4 | Sampling, gift packs, advent calendars |
| 20cl | 0.08 l | £2.72 | £8 to £12 | Gifting, trial sizes, premium cream liqueurs |
| 35cl | 0.14 l | £4.76 | £10 to £16 | Half bottles, premium gin and whisky |
| 50cl | 0.20 l | £6.80 | £20 to £35 | Craft and premium spirits, liqueurs |
| 70cl | 0.28 l | £9.52 | £16 to £35 | The UK and EU standard for spirits |
| 75cl | 0.30 l | £10.20 | £18 to £40 | Wine everywhere; spirits in the Americas |
| 1 l | 0.40 l | £13.60 | £18 to £25 | Volume format for mainstream brands, travel retail |
| 1.75 l | 0.70 l | £23.79 | £35 to £50 | Party size; the US "handle" |
Choosing sizes for a UK launch
- Lead with 70cl. It is the size the UK shelf, the online listing structure and the trade all expect. Every price benchmark in our data is a 70cl benchmark unless stated.
- Add a litre only if you are chasing volume. It wins the mainstream tables but it anchors your brand at a per-centilitre price that is hard to climb back from.
- Use 5cl for discovery. Miniatures sit outside the prescribed-size rules, carry 68p of duty, and are the cheapest way to get liquid into mouths through gift sets and tasting packs.
- Keep 750 ml for the Americas. A 75cl spirit bottle is legal in the UK only if it is on the list, and it is not. If you already run 750 ml, the 2025 US change means you can move to 700 ml for everywhere rather than the reverse.
- Check the case. A 6 × 70cl case is the UK norm; 12 × 70cl and 6 × 1 l are common. Our duty calculator now works per case and per pallet for any format.
Sources
- Directive 2007/45/EC on nominal quantities for prepacked products, Annex section 1; Regulation (EU) 2018/1670 (shochu)
- The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (UK)
- TTB standards of fill final rules, 29 December 2020 and 10 January 2025; 27 CFR 5.203
- GOV.UK alcohol duty rates from 1 February 2026