Planning and creating lists for your upcoming party? Are you stuck on determining how much alcohol you need for the event? You are not alone; it happens to everyone. However, after reading this guide to calculating the right amount of alcohol for your party, you will become a pro knowing exactly how much alcohol you need and helping your friends.
Certainly, you do not want to run out of alcohol at your party – no matter the type of party. This guide comes in handy to help you out of the indecisive situation. Read carefully to get a grasp of how to estimate the right amount of alcohol for your party.
Calculating the Right Amount of Alcohol for Your Party
To arrive at the perfect amount of alcohol for your party, these factors are crucial:
1. Number of expected guests
2. Length of the party
3. Type of alcohol on your drink menu
Assuming you are serving only wine or beer and you expect a guest to take two or three drinks within two hours of the party, your estimate looks like this:
Number of guests x 2 drinks x length of party in hours ÷ 2 = Total Drinks
Number of guests x 3 drinks x length of party in hours ÷ 2 = Total Drinks
Hence, if the party is expected to last 3 hours and fifteen guests are invited, the calculation looks thus:
15 x 2 x 3 ÷ 2 = 45 drinks (assuming a guest tips back 2 drinks in two hours)
15 x 3 x 3 ÷ 2 = 67.5 drinks (assuming a guest tips back 3 drinks in two hours)
Number of Bottles Needed
It is much easier if you are serving only one type of drink. You only have to divide the total drinks (as above) by the number of servings per bottle of the drink. Take note of the following:
1 bottle of champagne gives 8 glasses
1 bottle of wine gives 5 glasses
1 bottle of liquor gives 18 mixed drinks
1 bottle of beer gives 1 glass.
Calculating Different Types of Drinks for a Party
With different drinks like beer, wine, liquor etc. on your menu, you need to calculate how much you need for each of them. Usually, a guest will drink 1 to 2 drinks per hour. So, it is fair to say 1.5 drinks per hour per guest.
Assuming, 20% of guests will drink beer, 30% of guests will drink liquor and 50% of guests will drink wine, the calculation looks like this:
Beer = (Number of guests x 20%) x 1.5 ÷ 1 (serving per bottle) = Needed 12-ounce bottles per hour
Liquor = (Number of guests x 30%) x 1.5 ÷ 16 (servings per bottle) = Needed bottles per hour
Wine = (Number of guests x 50%) x 1.5 ÷ 5 (servings per bottle) = Needed bottles per hour
If you have invited 20 guests, using the above criteria, the number of drinks is calculated below:
Beer = (20 x 20%) x 1.5 ÷ 1 = 6 bottles per hour
Liquor = (20 x 30%) x 1.5 ÷ 16 = 0.56 bottle per hour
Wine = (20 x 50%) x 1.5 ÷ 5 = 3 bottles per hour
Conclusion
Irrespective of your calculations on the right amount of alcohol you need for a party, there may be errors as some guests may take more than estimated. To cater to this differential, arrange an after hours alcohol delivery to ensure you do not run out of alcohol.