free bar tool
Party drinks and wedding alcohol calculator
Enter guests, hours and your drinker mix to get wine, beer, spirits, ice and mixers in oz and mL — plus a printable shopping list. No sign-up.
Your shopping list
Casual party
Total drinks
- Wine %
- Beer %
- Spirits %
How it works
- Total drinks = guests × (first-hour drinks + later hours × later-hour drinks) × (1 + buffer), rounded up. Defaults match our Party Drinks Planner spreadsheet: 2 in the first hour, 1 each later hour, 10% buffer.
- Split total drinks by your wine / beer / spirits shares.
- Units: wine = 750 mL bottles at 5 × 5 oz glasses; beer = 1 can or bottle per drink; spirits: about 17 pours of 1.5 oz per 750 mL bottle (we use 16.9).
- Ice: 1 lb per guest for drinks. Double it if it's hot, outdoors, or you're chilling bottles in tubs. Mixer: about 6 drinks per 1 L bottle (roughly 5.5 oz per drink).
- Volumes show poured amounts in oz and mL (1 US fl oz = 29.57 mL). Beer volume assumes a 12 oz can.
Need to scale a single cocktail recipe instead? Use the cocktail batch calculator.
Estimates only. Serve guests 21 and over, keep water and soft drinks out all night, and help everyone get home safely.
FAQ
How many drinks per person per hour?
Defaults are about 2 drinks in the first hour and 1 drink each later hour, plus a 10% buffer (15% on the wedding preset). Open Advanced to change them.
How much alcohol do I need for a wedding of 100?
With the Wedding / full bar preset (100 guests, 5 hours, 15% buffer, 35% wine / 25% beer / 40% spirits), plan about 690 drinks: 49 bottles of wine, 173 beers, 17 bottles of spirits, 100 lb of ice and 46 × 1 L mixers. Adjust the mix for your crowd.
How much ice do I need per guest?
We plan 1 lb of ice per guest for drinks in glasses. Double it if the event is hot, outdoors, or you are chilling bottles in tubs.
How many glasses are in a bottle of wine?
We count 5 glasses of about 5 oz (about 148 mL) from a 750 mL bottle. Sparkling wine is counted the same; 4 oz flutes yield about 6 per bottle.
How many pours are in a bottle of spirits?
About 17 pours of 1.5 oz from a 750 mL bottle (16.9 in the spreadsheet math).
set up the bar
Stocked for a crowd? Lay down a bar mat.
Knot & Style rubber bar mats are 18 x 12 in, with designs made for home bars, coffee stations and kitchen counters.