How Much Beer & Wine Should I Buy for a Party?

You do not want to have too little beer or wine at a party and run out early.

Calculate When Buying Drinks

It might take more than one party to determine which people are heavy or light drinkers.

Count how many people will be at your party. Ask yourself how many people drink beer and how many drink wine. Of those, determine how many are light drinkers and how many are heavy drinkers. With this information, count three or four drinks per each heavy drinker and one per each light drinker.

Buy Two Drinks per Person

If you have a mix of light, heavy and non-drinkers, calculating two drinks per person should be just about right.

One way to roughly calculate how much beer or wine to drink still involves figuring out how many wine or beer drinkers there are. With that information, buy enough for two drinks per person, which will cover the first couple of hours, then one drink per hour per person after that.

Bottom Line

You can always enjoy extra wine or beer at another time.

Whether you calculate it very precisely or roughly buy two drinks per person plus a little more, you should still buy a little extra. Having leftover drinks from a party is better than running out early. Sometimes your guests will bring extra people without telling you, and you can be sure these unplanned people will be drinking beer or wine meant for others. Play it safe and buy extra.

References

• Thatsthespirit.com: Party Calculator
• Marie Claire: How to Stock a Bar for Your Holiday Party