Drinks Per Guest Calculator

The standard planning rule: one drink per person per hour, adjusted for event type.

A “drink” is one 5 oz glass of wine, one 12 oz beer, or one 1.5 oz shot of spirits.

Drink rate by event type:

• Casual gathering: 1 drink/person/hour (conversation-focused, slower drinking)
• Cocktail party: 1.5 drinks/person/hour (drinks in hand the whole time, mingling)
• Dinner party: 0.75 drinks/person/hour (food absorbs some, pace is slower)
• Wedding or celebration: 1.5 drinks/person/hour (toasting, dancing, higher consumption)
• Outdoor BBQ: 1.25 drinks/person/hour (heat and activity push consumption up)

From total drinks, the calculator splits the estimate: 40% wine, 40% beer, 20% spirits. Adjust this mentally if you know your crowd skews heavily toward one type.

Bottle yields:

• Wine: 5 glasses per 750 ml bottle
• Spirits: about 17 standard 1.5 oz shots per 750 ml bottle

Practical rules of thumb: Always round up on bottles. A leftover bottle of wine is never a problem, but running out mid-party is. Add one extra wine bottle per 10 guests as a buffer. If you are serving champagne for a toast only, that is separate: one bottle per 6-8 guests.

Beer is sold in sixes and cases of 24, so the can count below gets rounded up to whole packs. Buying 27 cans means three sixes and a nine you cannot buy, and shops will not split a case. Past about 150 cans a half-barrel keg is usually cheaper, and it holds 165 twelve-ounce servings.

Non-alcoholic drinks matter too. Have at least one non-alcoholic option available, and figure on 1-2 non-alcoholic drinks per non-drinker per hour. A good rule is one-third of total drink volume in soft drinks and water.