How Much Alcohol to Buy for a Wedding or Party
Most hosts guess on alcohol and guess high, then spend the next month with eleven bottles of triple sec. A few guess low and the bar runs dry at nine o'clock. Neither one has to happen. The math is simple, and it's the same math we use when we build a shopping list for a client.
How many drinks does each guest actually have?
Plan on two drinks per guest in the first hour and one drink per guest for every hour after that. People arrive thirsty, grab something to hold during the first hour of mingling, then settle into a slower pace once dinner, toasts, or dancing start.
For 100 guests at a five-hour event, that's 200 drinks in hour one and 100 per hour for the remaining four. Total: 600 drinks.
Adjust from there. A short afternoon party with lots of food runs lighter. A late reception with a dance floor runs heavier. A summer outdoor event runs heavier on anything cold. If your crowd skews toward one kind of drinker, that changes the split below, not the total.
How do you split it between liquor, wine, and beer?
A reasonable starting split for a mixed crowd is about 40% liquor, 30% wine, 30% beer. For our 600-drink example, that's 240 liquor drinks, 180 glasses of wine, and 180 beers. If you serve a signature cocktail, most of that liquor share goes to it, which keeps the shopping list short.
That's a starting point, not a rule. Wedding crowds often lean toward wine and signature cocktails. Tailgates and backyard parties lean toward beer. A cocktail-forward event does better with a tighter list of spirits than a full wall of bottles.
What does that turn into at the liquor store?
The number of cocktails per bottle depends on two things: how much liquor the recipe calls for, and which bottle size you buy. Most cocktails use either a 1.5 oz or a 2 oz pour, and liquor comes in three sizes you'll actually see on the shelf. Here's the yield for each, rounded down to allow for the little bit that never makes it into the glass:
| Bottle size | Ounces | Cocktails at 1.5 oz | Cocktails at 2 oz |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750 ml (standard) | 25.4 oz | 16 | 12 |
| 1 liter | 33.8 oz | 22 | 16 |
| 1.75 liter (handle) | 59.2 oz | 39 | 29 |
So for our example of 240 liquor drinks at a 2 oz pour, you're buying 20 standard bottles, or 15 one-liter bottles, or 9 handles. At 1.5 oz, it's 15 standard bottles, 11 liters, or 7 handles. Check the recipe first, then buy. A signature cocktail built on 1.5 oz needs a quarter fewer bottles than one built on 2 oz, and the price per ounce is usually lower on the bigger bottles, so the handle is often the cheaper way to buy the base spirit you'll pour most.
The other conversions, all for a 750 ml bottle:
- Wine: 5 glasses per bottle. 180 glasses is 36 bottles, or 3 cases.
- Beer: one per drink. 180 beers is 7.5 cases of 24, so buy 8.
- Champagne toast: 6 flutes per bottle. A toast for 100 guests is about 17 bottles.
Round up a little on the things that keep (spirits, canned beer), not on things that go flat or warm. Unopened bottles go back in your cabinet. You buy the alcohol at retail and keep what's left, so overbuying on shelf-stable items costs you nothing but a little cabinet space.
Don't forget everything that isn't alcohol
This is where plans actually fall apart. Mixers, juice, garnish, and ice run out before the liquor does.
- Ice: figure 1 to 2 pounds per guest, and lean to the high end in a Virginia summer or for any event with frozen or shaken drinks. Running out of ice is the single most common way a bar goes sideways.
- Mixers: a bottle of mixer covers roughly 8 to 10 drinks, so match that to the cocktails on your menu.
- Non-alcoholic options: some guests aren't drinking, and driving. A water station and one real non-alcoholic option keeps them in the party.
- Glassware: plan for 2 to 3 glasses per guest if you want guests to get a fresh glass without hunting for one. See glass rentals.
How many bartenders does that bar need?
About one bartender for every 75 guests. Our 100-guest example wants two. Above roughly 150 guests, add a bar-back so the bartenders aren't leaving the bar to restock. A line at the bar is where guests lose patience, and the number of bartenders sets the length of that line more than anything else. You can see what that costs in our mobile bar pricing guide.
What pushes the numbers up or down?
Four things move the estimate more than anything else. Time of day: an afternoon event with a full meal drinks less than an evening reception. Weather: a hot, humid day sends people to cold drinks and water, so cold beer, spritzers, and extra ice matter. The age mix: a room with a lot of guests who aren't drinking needs more non-alcoholic options and fewer bottles. Food: if dinner is served early, the pace slows. If it's appetizers only, expect it to speed up. When you aren't sure, build the list for the heavier case and rely on shelf-stable bottles you can keep.
Common questions
Should I buy by the case or by the bottle?
Ask the store about case discounts, and ask whether they take back unopened bottles. Policies vary by store, so check before you buy rather than after.
Is a smaller menu actually cheaper?
Almost always. A signature cocktail, one beer, one red, and one white covers most guests and cuts the number of bottles you open. A full open bar with twelve spirits multiplies waste.
Do I need to hire help to buy the alcohol?
You don't. But a menu and a shopping list built around your guest count and hours takes the guesswork out, which is what our complimentary beverage program planning does.
Want a list built for your event?
Give us your date, guest count, and what your crowd drinks, and we'll put numbers on it. Start with the estimate builder or look over what our mobile bartenders handle on the night. If you're still shaping the menu, our guide to building a wedding bar menu is a good next read.
