Party Drinks Calculator: How Much Beer, Wine and Ice to Buy
Tell us how many guests, how long the party lasts and how you want to split the drinks. We round up to whole cans and bottles and add a safety buffer.
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Formula
total drinks = guests x hours x drinks per hour x (1 + buffer / 100)
Each category gets its percentage of the total. Beer counts 1 drink per can or bottle, wine 5 drinks per 750 ml bottle, spirits 17 drinks per 750 ml bottle (44 ml pours). Non-alcoholic is what remains of 100 percent. Ice is 0.5 kg per guest. Everything is rounded up.
Worked example
20 guests, 4 hours, 1 drink per hour, 10 percent buffer: 20 x 4 x 1 x 1.1 = 88 drinks. Beer 50 percent = 44 cans. Wine 30 percent = 26.4 drinks = 5.28 bottles, so 6 bottles. Spirits 10 percent = 8.8 drinks = 1 bottle. Non-alcoholic 10 percent = 9. Ice = 10 kg.
Frequently asked questions
How many drinks should I plan per guest?
A common guideline is about 1 drink per guest per hour, and a little more in the first hour. 20 guests for 4 hours is 80 drinks, or 88 with a 10 percent buffer.
How many drinks are in a bottle of wine?
A 750 ml bottle pours about 5 glasses, so 26 wine drinks need 26.4 / 5 = 5.28, rounded up to 6 bottles.
How much ice do I need?
About 0.5 kg (roughly 1 lb) per guest for chilling drinks and serving. For 20 guests that is 10 kg.
What is the remainder of the split?
Whatever is left after beer, wine and spirits goes to non-alcoholic drinks. If you enter 50, 30 and 10 percent, the other 10 percent is soft drinks, water or juice.