Calculate exactly how much beer, wine, and liquor you need to buy for your next party.
Your Shopping List
You will need approximately 80 total drinks for your party.
Beer
40 Bottles/Cans
Buy 2 cases (24-packs)
Wine
4 Bottles
(750ml each)
Liquor
2 Bottles
(750ml each)
Event Planning Rule of Thumb: Always assume guests will consume 2 drinks during the first hour of the party, and 1 drink for every hour after that. If serving liquor, don't forget to buy 1 liter of mixers (juice, soda, tonic) for every bottle of liquor!
Last updated: August 2026
Never Run Out of Drinks Again
Whether you're hosting a casual backyard barbecue, a holiday party, or DIY-ing your own wedding bar, figuring out how much alcohol to buy is notoriously stressful. Buy too little, and the party dies early. Buy too much, and you've wasted hundreds of dollars. Our Party Drink Calculator uses professional catering formulas to give you an exact shopping list.
The Golden Rule of Party Drinks
Professional event planners and caterers use a simple formula to calculate total beverage needs:
2 drinks per guest for the first hour + 1 drink per guest for each additional hour.
If you are hosting 50 people for a 4-hour party, that equals 5 drinks per person, meaning you need exactly 250 total drinks.
How to Split the Bar (The 50/25/25 Rule)
If you are hosting a full open bar with beer, wine, and liquor, how do you split up those 250 drinks? The standard catering ratio is:
50% Beer: 125 beers → 125 ÷ 24 = 5.2, rounded up to 6 cases
25% Wine: 62.5 glasses of wine → 62.5 ÷ 5 = 12.5, rounded up to 13 bottles
25% Liquor: 62.5 mixed drinks → 62.5 ÷ 16 = 3.9, rounded up to 4 bottles
Notice each category rounds up to the next whole case or bottle, since you can't buy a partial one - this means your actual purchase will always cover slightly more than the bare minimum, which is the safer direction to round.
Don't Forget the Mixers and Ice!
If you are serving liquor, you must buy mixers. A good rule of thumb is to buy 1 liter of mixer (tonic, club soda, cranberry juice, Coke) for every 1 bottle of liquor. For ice, plan on buying 1 to 1.5 pounds of ice per person.
This tool is for party-planning and shopping purposes only. Please serve alcohol responsibly, provide non-alcoholic options, and make sure guests who are drinking have a safe way home.
Frequently Asked Questions
The golden rule of party planning is to assume each guest will consume 2 drinks during the first hour, and 1 drink for every hour after that. So for a 4-hour party, plan for 5 drinks per person.
A standard 750ml bottle of wine contains approximately 5 glasses (5-ounce pours).
A standard 750ml bottle of liquor yields about 16 standard drinks, assuming a standard 1.5-ounce shot per drink.
Beer is estimated at 1 drink per bottle or can, then divided by 24 (a standard case size) and rounded up, since you can't buy a partial case. For example, 125 beers needed requires 125 ÷ 24 = 5.2, rounded up to 6 full cases.
Yes. The 50/25/25 beer/wine/liquor split is a general default for a mixed crowd. Use the "Beer & Wine Only" or "Beer Only" options in the calculator if you know your guests' preferences skew heavily toward one type of drink.
Plan on roughly 1 to 1.5 pounds of ice per guest for a few hours of drinking - more for longer, hotter events, since ice is used both for chilling drinks and serving them over ice.
No, it estimates based on total guest count. If you know a portion of your guests won't be drinking (designated drivers, kids, non-drinkers), reduce the guest count you enter accordingly for a more accurate total.
No - this is a party-planning shopping estimate, not a guide for personal alcohol consumption or serving limits. Always serve responsibly, offer non-alcoholic options, and arrange safe transportation for guests who are drinking.
