TOOLS / FOR EVERYONE

How much bar to buy

Enter your guests, hours, and rough drink mix and get an estimate of drinks, bottles, beer, and mixers to stock. A planning estimate, not a shopping receipt.

Adults who'll drink. Skip kids and non-drinkers.
hrs
How long the bar is open.
A common planning assumption is about 1 drink per guest per hour — a touch higher for the first hour, lower for a long event. Adjust to your crowd.
Drink mix
%
%
%
TOTAL DRINKS—
WINE BOTTLES—
SPIRIT BOTTLES—
BEERS—

Planning estimate only — actual consumption varies with the crowd, weather, and menu. Buy a little over and check a return policy.

How this is estimated

Total drinks are guests × hours × drinks per guest per hour, then split by your mix. From there: a 750 ml wine bottle pours about 5 glasses, a 750 ml spirit bottle makes roughly 16 cocktails at 1.5 oz each, and beers are counted one-to-one. Mixers are estimated at about one liter per five cocktails. These are standard catering rules of thumb, not guarantees — round up and keep the receipts.

Quantities are half the job; a licensed pro handles the pour and the liability. See what one costs and does in the event bartender guide, fold the drinks line into the whole budget with the event budget calculator, and for the bigger picture read how to budget an event.