For all the Vodka lovers out there, there should be some restrictions to the shots you can have, and after that, you should not be having any further. Right? Now, only if you know how many shots it will take you to reach the level of intoxication can stop you from having more.
For a man, it will take around 6-7 shots of Vodka to get drunk, and for a woman, it will take around 4-5 shots. Having said that, there are various factors like alcohol tolerance, alcohol concentration, and the size of the shots you are having to decide how many shots of Vodka to get drunk.
Therefore, to get more details and insights, keep reading the blog. We will take you on a better tour of Vodka’s level of alcohol and other aspects that will help you drink responsibly.
How Does a Person Get Drunk?
When consuming alcohol, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reaches around 0.05% to 0.08%, which is the level at which people start to experience impaired judgment and coordination. When this level is reached, people start to become relaxed and happier, but the reaction time starts to delay here. Also, this BAC is the legal limit for people allowed to drive drunk. If the level goes above that, that’s illegal.
At a BAC that crosses 0.08% and reaches 0.15%, all the symptoms of intoxication like slurred speech, vision, slow reaction, impaired memory, and others start to become clear. This level is the legal level of intoxication where you lose your sanity to perform actions like driving or other responsible actions.
Now when the BAC goes one more level up, which is, 0.15% to 0.30%, it’s the level of experiencing dangerous and severe motor impairment and loss of consciousness. This level is mostly the result of drinking a lot in a very short time. Blackout is also one possibility at this level.
Now comes the BAC that’s above 0.30%. It’s the stage of loss of consciousness, slow heart rate, slow breathing, and alcohol poisoning, and it can be even fatal in some cases. Here, medical help can be needed.
Alcohol intoxication happens on a spectrum, even though medical and legal restrictions offer some direction. The exact blood alcohol content (BAC) threshold at which one becomes intoxicated or tipsy depends on many factors.
Applying The Same to Vodka!
To begin with, how much alcohol one shot of Vodka would have strictly and majorly depends on how big or small the shot amount is. A higher amount of Vodka in a shot would mean more alcohol and vice versa.
Now, if you visit the bar, their standard amount of 1 Vodka shot would be 1.5 ounces, unless you ask for more. That standard shot will have around 40% alcohol with 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol. So, with an average Vodka shot, you get somewhere around 0.6 fluid ounces or 18 milliliters of actual alcohol.
For a 130 lb (59 kg) woman with 50% body water, she would have around 30 liters of water content. Consuming one 1.5 oz shot and adding 0.6 oz alcohol gives 0.6 oz / 30 liters = 0.02%. Each person has a different blood alcohol content threshold at which they will feel tipsy or inebriated.
Can You Feel Tipsy After Having Vodka?
A shot of Vodka has enough alcohol to take you to a drunk stage if you continue to have shots one after another for a longer time. But the question here is if the Vodka can make you feel tipsy.
Vodka’s ABV percentage is around 35% to 95%. When comparing this percentage with gin, Vodka takes the lead. Gin and Vodka have the same profile and are often used as a substitute for each other. Given that they are both colorless, odorless, and composed of distilled grains, fruits, and cereals, it is difficult to distinguish much between the two.
Given that vodka has a higher AVB (35–50%) than gin, the only way to distinguish between the two is by flavor. Thus, drinking several shots of high-quality vodka at once increases the likelihood of getting tipsy. Always drink vodka cold, either straight from the fridge or over ice. Cold-serve vodka is supposed to enhance its flavor.
Also Read:Is Vodka Good For You? Understanding its Benefits
Factors Affecting Your Drunk State With Vodka
There are many factors that can affect your drunk state with Vodka:
Alcohol Concentration
The concentration of alcohol in any alcoholic drink is the dominating factor that decides how much it takes for a man to get drunk. Now, Vodka is a high-proof alcohol with a larger percentage of pure alcohol which makes it easy to feel tipsy or intoxicated with fewer shots.
Ten ounces of 20% alcohol would have the same impact as five ounces of 40% vodka. Drinking alcohol that is over 50 proof causes the stomach lining to release more concentrated ethanol molecules, which swiftly enter the blood circulation.
Alcohol Tolerance
With years of engaging in drinking, many people develop an alcohol tolerance that also determines how much alcohol that individual needs or can have to feel drunk. Their tolerance is higher, so they will need more Vodka shots to get drunk from someone who’s not a habitual drinker.
One with good alcohol tolerance will show less impairment or coordination. The reason is simple. With time, the liver’s metabolization rate starts to adjust with the alcohol. This leads to brain chemistry where it adapts to the depressive effects of ethanol from drinks you keep on having.
Other than that, age and genetics are two crucial factors affecting alcohol intolerance too.
When a young lady with less drinking experience reaches a 0.05% BAC, she may exhibit slurred speech. On the other hand, a 50-year-old male who has been a daily drinker for years can continue to be in a good state of sanity at a 0.08% BAC.
Shot Size
There’s no brainstorming that larger shots will have more alcohol that will make you drunk faster and small Vodka shots may take more time. Simple math, right?
Drinking more alcohol at once causes your stomach to fill up faster, which causes your bloodstream to swiftly fill with ethanol molecules. Even while this has the same amount of alcohol as a conventional shot, it can cause intoxication more quickly.
The relationship between the total amount of alcohol consumed and the peak blood alcohol concentration is linear. As a result, drinkers will absorb more alcohol into their blood over a shorter period of time when shot sizes increase above the typical 1 oz portion, which will result in rapid intoxication effects within the first hour or so of drinking.
Gender
When drinking the same amount, women are more likely to reach a higher BAC level than men even if their weight is the same. It’s because of women’s psychological and hormonal factors.
Another reason is that women’s body fat is more and water content is less than men’s. Now, Ethanol’s property is that it is more soluble in water and less in fat. Therefore, alcohol gets diluted in men throughout the body because of water.
Another reason for women getting drunk faster than men is their lower levels of alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme in the stomach line. Its function is to break down ethanol before it can enter the bloodstream. Because it’s less than men, they get drunk faster.
All these factors when mixed result in women getting intoxicated faster requiring fewer vodka shots.
Body Weight
Body weight is yet another very practical reason for affecting the rate of intoxication in individuals. A heavier person gets drunk a little later than their opponent. This is because a heavy person dilutes alcohol over a greater total body volume.
Example: A 200-pound person and a 120-pound person would probably feel less inebriated and have a lower blood alcohol content (BAC) if they drank the same amount of alcohol over the same length of time. Assuming that they have the same body water ratios, still, the heavier body will still have more liquid to absorb each ounce of ethanol into. So, they will need more alcohol to get intoxicated.
Mood
Yes, mood is also a factor that decides how many Vodka shots a person would require to get drunk. If the person is happy and in a jolly mood, he/she can surprise everybody around with their alcohol tolerance. They will end up having more shots.
Conclusion
In conclusion, different people’s levels of alcohol intoxication and drunkenness are determined by different interrelated elements.
While the majority of adults show signs of intoxication at 4–7 drinks, the exact amount of intoxication varies depending on many factors, including shot size, gender, weight, metabolism, and alcohol content.
Petite people without a history of excessive drinking are often more prone to feel inebriated sooner after consuming larger amounts of higher-proof whisky on an empty stomach.
People who drink alcohol often go through the stages of tipsiness more gradually.
Also Read:How is Vodka Made? Inside The Process!