Free Tool

How Much Alcohol Do I Need for a Party or Wedding?

The working rule for a full bar is one drink per guest per hour, plus an extra round in the first hour. For 100 guests over 5 hours that is 450 drinks, which works out to roughly 45 bottles of wine, 7 cases of beer and 5 bottles of liquor, plus 250 cups and 150 pounds of ice. Put your own guest count and hours into the calculator below, or read the worked examples for 50, 100 and 150 guests. These are South Florida quantities, where the heat pushes consumption up.

75%
What you’re serving

Your buy list

450 drinks poured

  • Wine Roughly half white, a third red, the rest bubbles. A 750 mL bottle pours five glasses. 45bottles
  • Beer Cases of 24. Buy it cold or leave time to chill — warm beer on the day is the most common miss. 7cases
  • Liquor A 750 mL bottle pours seventeen drinks. Vodka and tequila move fastest — buy those deeper. 5bottles
  • Mixers & soda Club soda, tonic, cola, juice. Guests drink these on their own, not only in cocktails. 19litres
  • Cups Two and a half per guest. People set one down, lose it, and take another — every time. 250cups
  • Ice A pound and a half per guest. Half chills bottles, half goes in glasses. 150lb

How this is worked out

One drink per guest per hour, plus an extra round in the first — that is when people arrive thirsty and the bar is busiest. Of what gets poured, about half is wine, a third beer, the rest liquor.

These are South Florida quantities, where the heat pushes consumption up. Buy toward the higher end for a summer afternoon, the lower end for a seated dinner. You know your guests better than a calculator does.

Serving Palm Beach, Broward, and Martin counties. Quantities are an estimate to plan against, not a guarantee. Supplies are billed at cost and card payments carry a 4% processing fee.

Worked Examples

Three Real Shopping Lists

Every figure below is the calculator's own arithmetic, written out. Three quarters of your guests drink, each has a drink an hour with an extra round in the first, and the pour splits half wine, a third beer, the rest liquor. A 750 mL bottle of wine pours five glasses, a 750 mL bottle of liquor pours seventeen drinks, and a case of beer holds twenty-four.

100 guests, 5 hours

Full bar

Seventy-five of your hundred guests will drink. Over a five hour service that is 450 drinks once you add the extra round in the first hour, when people arrive thirsty and the bar is busiest.

Split half wine, a third beer and the rest liquor, that comes to 45 bottles of wine, 7 cases of beer and 5 bottles of liquor, plus 250 cups and 150 pounds of ice.

  • Wine45 bottles
  • Beer7 cases
  • Liquor5 bottles
  • Mixers and soda19 litres
  • Cups250
  • Ice150 lb
  • Drinks poured450

50 guests, 4 hours

Full bar

Thirty-eight of your fifty guests will drink, and four hours of service comes to 190 drinks.

That is 19 bottles of wine, 3 cases of beer and 2 bottles of liquor - 72 beers in all - plus 130 cups and 80 pounds of ice. One bartender covers a room this size.

  • Wine19 bottles
  • Beer3 cases
  • Liquor2 bottles
  • Mixers and soda11 litres
  • Cups130
  • Ice80 lb
  • Drinks poured190

150 guests, 6 hours

Full bar

A hundred and thirteen of your hundred and fifty guests will drink, and six hours of service comes to 791 drinks.

That is 80 bottles of wine, 11 cases of beer and 8 bottles of liquor, plus 380 cups and 230 pounds of ice. At this size you are into three bartenders and an hour past the five hour window.

  • Wine80 bottles
  • Beer11 cases
  • Liquor8 bottles
  • Mixers and soda29 litres
  • Cups380
  • Ice230 lb
  • Drinks poured791

If you book us, that list gets shorter. The quantities above are the complete standalone list for a BYOB bar. Palm Beach Cocktails is a BYOB service, so you buy the alcohol at retail and we never mark it up, but we bring the ice and all bar tools ourselves, and on cocktail packages we bring the mixers and fresh garnishes and bill them at our cost. You supply the serviceware. See what a bartender costs for how the packages and supplies are priced.

Common Questions

How Much of What?

How much alcohol do I need for 100 guests?

For 100 guests over a five hour full bar, plan on about 45 bottles of wine, 7 cases of beer, and 5 bottles of liquor. That covers roughly 450 drinks, which is what 75 drinking guests get through in five hours plus an extra first round. You will also want about 250 cups and 150 pounds of ice.

How many bottles of wine per person at a wedding?

Plan on just under half a bottle of wine per guest at a full bar wedding. A 750 mL bottle pours five glasses, so 100 guests over five hours works out to 45 bottles, which is 0.45 bottles each. If you are serving beer and wine only, that rises to 54 bottles, because wine carries a larger share of the pour.

How much beer do I need for 50 people?

For 50 guests over four hours at a full bar, plan on 3 cases of beer, which is 72 bottles or cans. If beer and wine are the only things you are serving, buy 4 cases instead. Cases of 24 are the easiest unit to buy and the easiest to get cold in time.

How many drinks does a bottle of liquor pour?

A 750 mL bottle of liquor pours about 17 drinks at a standard 1.5 ounce measure. A 750 mL bottle of wine pours five glasses, and a case of beer holds 24. Those three numbers are what this calculator divides your drink count by.

Do I buy the alcohol or does the bartender?

You buy the alcohol. Palm Beach Cocktails is a BYOB service, so you choose exactly what is poured, buy it at retail, and we never mark it up. We bring the staff, ice, and all bar tools, and for cocktail packages we bring mixers and fresh garnishes billed at our cost. You supply the serviceware.

Next

Have Someone Else Pour It

We are an insured, certified BYOB bartending service across Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties. Read how much a mobile bartender costs, browse the frequently asked questions, or see the longer BYOB shopping guide. We cover West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Wellington.

Check Your Date