How Much Wine, Beer and Liquor to Buy for a Party

There are two kinds of party hosts. There’s the one who runs out of wine at nine o’clock, and there’s the one who still has a stack of bottles in the garage come February. Neither one is the end of the world, but it’s nice to land somewhere in the middle.

We help people figure this out all the time, especially around the holidays, and the good news is that it’s way easier than it sounds. You really only need one simple rule to get started.

Plan on about one drink per guest for every hour of the party. People usually drink a little more when they first show up and slow down as the night goes on, so it tends to even out. If you’re having twenty people over for four hours, that’s roughly eighty drinks. If your crowd is on the lighter side you can round down a bit, and if it’s a big holiday blowout or a wedding, round up.

Once you know about how many drinks you need, it helps to know what’s in a bottle. A regular bottle of wine pours about five glasses. A can or bottle of beer is one drink, so a case covers a lot of ground. And a standard bottle of liquor makes somewhere around sixteen cocktails if you’re pouring a normal shot in each one.

Next, think about your crowd and what they actually like. A dinner party will probably lean heavily toward wine. A backyard barbecue is going to be mostly beer. A holiday party with a fun signature cocktail could be more about spirits. If you really aren’t sure, a good starting point is to make about half of your drinks wine, a little less than a third beer and the rest liquor.

So for that party of twenty people over four hours, you’d be looking at around eight bottles of wine, a case of beer and a bottle of your main liquor. Grab a second bottle of liquor if you’re making a cocktail you know people are going to love. For the wine, a mix of reds and whites works well, and a bottle of bubbles is always nice to have on hand for a toast. See? Not scary at all!

Here’s where a lot of parties fall apart, though. The booze is covered, but nobody remembered the ice. Plan on about a pound of ice per guest just for drinks, and get more if you’re also using it to keep bottles cold in a cooler. Don’t forget mixers like tonic, soda water, ginger beer and juice, along with a bag of limes and a few lemons. And always have something good for the people who aren’t drinking. Sparkling water is great, and there are some really tasty non-alcoholic beers and spirits out there now too. Lots of regular water helps everyone, especially since we’re living at altitude.

A few more things that make hosting easier. Batching one big pitcher of a signature drink saves you from playing bartender all night long, and it gives the party a fun theme. Chill your whites, sparkling wine and beer before anyone arrives. If you’re in a hurry, a cooler filled with ice and water chills bottles much faster than ice alone. And it’s always smart to buy a little extra. Unopened wine and liquor keep just fine, so your leftovers aren’t wasted. They’re just ready for the next party.

Planning something big? Bring us your guest count, how long the party is going to run and a rough budget. We’ll help you put together the whole list, from the bottles to the mixers, so you can actually relax and enjoy your own party. Cheers!