Drink calculator: how many drinks for a party

The catering rule of thumb is two drinks per guest in the first hour and one an hour after that. A three-hour party is about four drinks a guest. Standing parties run thirstier than seated dinners, and brunch runs lighter.

A 750 ml bottle pours five 5 oz glasses. If 50 guests drink wine for three hours at four drinks each, that is 200 glasses, or 40 bottles. Most parties split the pour between wine, beer and something alcohol-free, so move the sliders to match your crowd — a mixed bar for 50 over three hours, with most guests drinking, needs about 13–17 bottles depending on the kind of party.

Each cocktail uses about 1.5 oz of spirit, so a 750 ml bottle makes about sixteen drinks. Plan about 4 oz of mixer per cocktail, a citrus fruit for every eight drinks, and ice for every glass.

Non-drinkers drink just as often as everybody else — they just drink something else. The calculator gives every non-drinker the same number of drinks as a drinker, as zero-proof, rather than one token bottle of soda.

Count one bottle or can per beer serving and add about 5%, because beer is the drink people help themselves to. A 24-pack covers 24 servings.

About 6 oz of ice goes into each iced drink, and bottles kept cold in a tub need roughly a pound of ice each on top of that. The ice calculator works it out in full, including hot weather.