Party drink calculator
How much wine, beer, spirits, bubbly, soft drinks and ice to buy for a party or wedding, based on guests, hours and what your crowd drinks.
How much does this crowd drink?
Drink mix
| Wine (750 ml bottles) | 34 | 5 glasses per bottle |
| Beer / cider | 102 | 5 cases of 24 |
| Spirits (750 ml) | 5 | 16 × 44 ml pours per bottle |
| Sparkling for the toast | 10 | 8 small pours per bottle |
| Mixers & soft drinks (litres) | 27 | incl. non-drinkers |
| Water (litres) | 64 | |
| Ice (kg) | 40 | ≈ 88 lb |
Rounded up. Buy on sale-or-return where your shop offers it and you'll never run dry.
The rule behind the numbers
Caterers plan on two drinks per guest in the first hour and about one per hour after that, because people arrive thirsty and slow down once food appears. The chart shows that curve for your party: the first bar is always the tallest.
A bottle of wine pours five 150 ml glasses; a 750 ml bottle of spirits gives about sixteen 44 ml (1.5 oz) measures; one beer is one drink. Those serving sizes follow the “standard drink” used by the US NIH, where one drink is 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine or 1.5 oz of spirits.
Adjusting for your crowd
A daytime garden party or a family event with lots of children drinks less than a Saturday night wedding with dancing. Use “Light” for lunches and afternoon events, “Heavy” for late parties with a free bar. If you're serving a signature cocktail, count it under spirits.
Planning the food too? The party food calculator works out canapés, mains and cake from the same guest count.
Questions people ask
How many drinks per person at a party?
Plan on two drinks per guest in the first hour and one per hour after that, then adjust down for daytime or family events and up for late-night parties.
How many bottles of wine for 100 guests?
For a four-hour event where about half the drinks are wine and 85 of the 100 guests drink, you need roughly 43 bottles (85 × 5 drinks × 50% ÷ 5 glasses per bottle). Use the calculator for your exact mix.
How much ice do I need for a party?
About half a kilo (1 lb) per guest for drinks, more in hot weather or if you are chilling bottles in tubs.
How many glasses of champagne are in a bottle?
Six full 125 ml flutes, or about eight smaller toast pours.