A typical shot glass holds about 1.5 ounces (44 ml) in the United States, which most bartenders treat as a “standard” shot.

However, shot glasses are not perfectly standardized, so you’ll see some variation:

  • Many common shot glasses range from 1.25–1.5 ounces.
  • Smaller ones can be around 1 ounce, and larger or “double” shot glasses can be 2–3 ounces or more.
  • In countries like the UK, a single shot is usually closer to 0.85–1 ounce (25–30 ml).

So if a recipe just says “1 shot,” it usually means about 1.5 ounces , unless you know your local standard or the specific glass is different.

TL;DR:
For “how many ounces is a shot glass,” the most common answer is 1.5 oz , but in practice it can be anywhere from about 1–2 oz depending on the glass and the country.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.