What size is a dram?!


Question:

What size is a dram?

As in a dram of whisky?


Answers:
About a half pint, if poured in my house.

Etymology: Middle English dragme, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French, dram, drachma, from Late Latin dragma, from Latin drachma, from Greek drachmE, literally, handful, from drassesthai to grasp
1 a -- see WEIGHT table b : FLUID DRAM
2 a : a small portion of something to drink b : a small amount

The fluid dram is defined as 1?8 of a fluid ounce, which means it is exactly equal to

3.696 691 195 312 5 mL in the United States and
3.551 632 812 500 0 mL in the Commonwealth and Ireland.
In the United Kingdom, a teaspoon was formerly defined as 1 fluid dram.

Dram is also used informally to mean a small amount of liquid, especially Scotch whisky.

a dram is just Scots for a short or spirit measure not a specific amount. In imperial measurements it would have been around the size of a gill.

i got fired because of that!! One night I lasted at the retired army club in Edinburgh and the crafty old buggars kept telling me a dram was much more than it was!

hmmm I was so wrong huh? Are you better today how's the whiskey tasting?

Depends entirely where you are drinking. In English pubs it appears to be 1/6th of a gill. In a lot of Scottish pubs it is 1/5th of a gill. In GOOD Scottish pubs it is 1/4 of a gill. In my house it is 2 or 3 times that!

i always thought it was one of those metal measures they have in pubs.

On Wikipedia it says it is used informally in Scotland to describe a small quantity of liquid, usually whisky. Actual fluid dram is 1/8th of a fluid ounce. Hope this helps.




The consumer Foods information on foodaq.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007 FoodAQ - Terms of Use - Contact us - Privacy Policy

Food's Q&A Resources