Carole I'm so sorry,I meant to put that in. We always use a pint because the melon will not take a whole fifth sometimes. However we have used a fifth and saved the remaining (1/3) for the smaller round seedless melons. I also forgot to say that the melon if not eaten in 2 days will become very mushy. Take a little advice, my brother tried it with Jack Daniels whiskey and it was strong and terrible tasting. Stick to the vodka. We prefere the brand Absolute, any will do. Try to save the hole (rind) that you cut out. If your melon takes the vodka fairly fast before your cookout, push the plug back in. Hope you enjoy it. Bonnie