Is a 3 oz glass of scotch a lot to drink?

Anonymous
Don't have access to a shot glass to measure, but am wondering if this is a lot or a little (or average)? Am on vacation with my alcoholic father and he's been drinking 3 oz glasses of Dewar's. Can elaborate more later, but am posting on the sly at the moment.
Anonymous
I think 2 oz is a more standard tipple, but what really matters is 1) how MANY 3 oz glasses he's drinking and 2) that an alcoholic is drinking at all.

For a non-alcoholic, I think one 3 oz glass is fine, sipped over a period of time.
Anonymous
3 ounces is equal to 3 beers, or 3 glasses of wine, or 3 mixed drinks. So, if someone drinks that much scotch in a short time, they most likely will be quite buzzed. If your dad is used to doing this, he may just be a little happier.
Anonymous
PP is incorrect. 1.5 oz of hard alcohol is equal to 1 beer or 1 5oz glass of wine. So in essence, 1 glass equals 2 drinks.
Anonymous
3 oz is two jiggers (1.5 oz each) or 3 shots (1 oz each). Roughly equivalent to one mixed drink (proofs vary, etc.) Given alcoholism, one might be good for him (low) and three of them might be "a regular night." Since you mentioned this in the plural, he's having a little...
Anonymous
If he's an alcoholic, he shouldn't be having anything to drink. I know- I'm related to several people who have been through rehab. Some successfully, some not.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Don't have access to a shot glass to measure, but am wondering if this is a lot or a little (or average)? Am on vacation with my alcoholic father and he's been drinking 3 oz glasses of Dewar's. Can elaborate more later, but am posting on the sly at the moment.


This question is weird. If he is an alcoholic, he shouldn't be drinking period. If he is not, and he is not a bad drunk, and he is not driving, you might be an annoying person with whom to vacation, especially if he is just having one 3 oz glass (which, how would you know if you can't measure?).
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Don't have access to a shot glass to measure, but am wondering if this is a lot or a little (or average)? Am on vacation with my alcoholic father and he's been drinking 3 oz glasses of Dewar's. Can elaborate more later, but am posting on the sly at the moment.


This question is weird. If he is an alcoholic, he shouldn't be drinking period. If he is not, and he is not a bad drunk, and he is not driving, you might be an annoying person with whom to vacation, especially if he is just having one 3 oz glass (which, how would you know if you can't measure?).


OP here. I can elaborate a little more. My father is indeed an alcoholic but the "program" he went through is of the moderation management/controlled drinking philosophy where abstinence is not the goal. When questioned by my mother, he told her it was a 3 oz glass. I don't have a shot glass here and have no way to conceptualize how much 3 oz is, which is why I asked. We are concerned b/c with moderation management, there's no way to tell what a relapse looks like as the alcoholic is drinking as part of normal life, unlike with abstinence programs, where it's more obvious what a relapse looks like.

Personally I believe he shouldn't be drinking at all. But my father disagrees with that ph
Anonymous
I can see this moderation as working depending on the situation- I mean, it;s like dieting, exercising, smoking- you don;t go cold turkey or ramp it up.. if your dad isn't lsing jobs/getting arrested- moderation may be the way to go.. it;s like dieting- those who are very obese and eat absurd amounts of food- they don;t go to 3 oz of meat and greens every meal- they gradually go down.. it really depends on how bad his lide was (vs the AA view of abstinence).
Anonymous
Just fyi OP 3 oz of liquid is a little more than 1/3 of a liquid measuring cup. You can get a glass the size your dad is drinkning out of, and measure for yourself.
Anonymous

It's also hard to tell if he's indulging more because he's on vacation or if he regularly drinks that much, which would be more concering. Did his moderation program define how many drinks counts as moderation?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
It's also hard to tell if he's indulging more because he's on vacation or if he regularly drinks that much, which would be more concering. Did his moderation program define how many drinks counts as moderation?



OP here. Sorry to have taken so long to respond. I misspoke when I made it sound like he was also on vacation- he wasn't. I was the one on vacation, visiting him at his home.

Part of the concern is that he's very secretive about his whole controlled drinking program; he won't give anyone many details, so I'm not sure if there is a defined set of expectations re: what is considered moderated drinking. I know the initial phase was a 90 day period of complete sobriety, which he says he did and I do believe him.

I've posted here before about my dad. He has been retired for a long time now (retired at 49, now is 67), so there hasn't been a job to lose in awhile. He's never been arrested for drunk driving, thank God. He would have a drink or two during the day with lunch and dinner, and then according to him, proceed to get blitzed at night, after everyone had gone to bed. He swears that he never drank and drove my children while visiting me, but the slowly decreasing wine in the bottle I marked told me otherwise.

I'm just worried about him; we all are. The longest he's ever been able to remain sober has been 9 months, according to him. Obviously someone who doesn't want to stop drinking isn't going to, which is something we all have to accept. While my mom isn't perfect, I believe he's been emotionally abusive to her. There's never been any one major incident that's affected his standing as a "good citizen" but according to both him and my mom, there were incidents (in the long ago past) that ended up with him being carried upstairs totally wasted by family members or him punching a wall.
Anonymous
Dewars is my alcohol of choice. I have been counting calories lately, so I know exactly how many ounces I have. I am a 160lb woman. I used to drink "two drinks" which amounted to 6-8 ounces at night. I did not feel that it was too much and I did not feel out of control, nor did anyone ever tell me I was.

I started drinking less as a calorie cutting measure and still have about 3 ounces 2-3 nights per week. I do not knoww hat you mean by "is it a lot." It is a perfectly good amount for me.
Anonymous
True alcoholics can't drink in moderation, which is why mainstream substance abuse doctors and therapists do not recognize it as a legitimate treatment. If your mom has to question him about how much he's drinking and if he is "secretive" about his program, there is still a problem and he's not in recovery, he's an active alcoholic.
Anonymous
No easy answers. The hardest part is the not knowing. Not knowing how much they are drinking. The secretiveness. Good luck to you kindred spirit. Signed, the long suffering partner of a high functioning alcoholic....
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