How Much Alcohol Do You Need for a Party?

This is the question I answer most often, and it's the one people get wrong in the most expensive direction — they over-buy. Massively.

Here's the math I actually use when I build an order, plus the parts that trip people up.

The first hour is what catches people out

People plan for an average and then get flattened in hour one.

Guests arrive thirsty, they arrive all at once, and the first thing most of them do is find the bar. So I plan on two drinks per person in that first hour, then one per hour after that. A four-hour event with 100 guests works out around 500 drinks total.

That number sounds enormous. It isn't — it's the whole night, spread across every guest, and a decent chunk of it will be beer that doesn't get finished.

The split

Unless you know your crowd specifically, start here:

• 50% beer
• 25% wine
• 25% spirits

Then adjust for what you actually know. A crowd in their twenties skews harder to spirits and seltzer. An older crowd drinks more wine. A summer afternoon in Florida drinks a lot more beer than a December evening does.

If you're running signature cocktails instead of a full bar — which I recommend for most events — the spirits portion gets much easier to buy, because you know exactly which bottles you need.

Ice. Please read this part.

Plan 1.25 pounds per guest. For 100 people that's 125 pounds of ice.

And that's the floor, not the target. This is Florida. Ice in a cooler outdoors in June is a melting asset. If you're doing a summer afternoon event, buy more than the math says and don't think about it again.

The number of events I've arrived at where the ice situation was "we got four bags" is higher than it should be. Four bags is about 80 pounds short.

Don't forget the unglamorous stuff

• Cups — two to three per guest, because people set them down and lose them.
• Mixers — club soda, tonic, ginger beer, a couple of juices. More than you think.
• Garnish — limes especially. Always more limes.
• Napkins and straws — cheap, and infuriating to run out of.
• Something non-alcoholic that isn't soda — see my rant about that.

When you book me, all of that is included — it's part of the per-guest service charge, so it's not a separate shopping trip. If you're doing it yourself, write it down now, because this is the list people remember at 4pm on the day.

Buy where you can return what you don't open

This is the trick that makes all of the above low-stakes.

I build every order through ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, where unopened wine and liquor is returnable. That means the correct strategy is to over-buy slightly on purpose. You never run out, and whatever stayed sealed goes back for a refund.

Buying somewhere without returns flips the whole calculation and forces you to cut it fine, which is how events run dry at 9:30.

Just get the list

Rather than doing this math yourself, the free alcohol calculator does it for you — guest count, bar type, duration, and it spits out a shopping list you can take to the store. It's the same math I use.

Use it whether or not you ever hire me. Honestly, I'd rather you not over-buy by $400 than have you never find the tool.