ABV

Alcohol by volume — the percentage of ethanol in a beverage, measured at 20 °C.

ABV is the universal shorthand for how strong a drink is. Standard spirits are bottled at 40% ABV; navy-strength gins and cask-strength whiskies can exceed 55%. On a cocktail spec sheet, ABV determines how much a drink needs to be diluted — a stirred Manhattan starts near 45% ABV in the bottle and ends near 22% ABV in the glass after ice and vermouth do their work.