How to Buy Alcohol for Your Party

Co-authored by Rachel Weinshanker

Many people throw parties and offer their guests alcohol in the form of beer, wine, or spirits. But you might be wondering what sort of alcohol to purchase and how much of it you should get. In addition, alcohol can be expensive, so you'll want to get enough for your guests to drink while staying within your budget. By calculating how much alcohol you need and getting alcohol and other supplies, you can buy alcohol and have a great party that anyone will enjoy.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Calculating How Much Alcohol You Need

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Set a budget. Before you can think about who to invite and how much alcohol to buy, it’s important to set a budget for your party. This can help you not overspend and guide you what types of alcohol may be best for your party.
- Let how much money you want to spend overall guide you. For example, if you can spend $150, you may want half to go to alcohol and the other half to food. However, if you’re having friends over for a wine tasting, you may want to spend more on a few bottles of quality wine and offer 2-3 small appetizers.
- Consider whether you are going to ask guests to bring a bottle of wine, beer, or another spirit. This will allow you to focus on a couple of types of alcohol.
- Figure out what you want to offer at the party. If you’re having alcohol, chances are that you may want to offer snacks or other food like pizza or burgers.
2
Determine the size and type of party you'll be throwing. The larger the party you throw, the more alcohol you'll need to supply. However, different types of parties will require different amounts of alcohol. For example, a simple lunch party won't require as much alcohol as a cocktail party or a wedding reception.
- Decide how long the party will last. The longer your party is, the more alcohol you'll need to supply to your guests.^{[1]
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  Research source} A good rule of thumb for parties is to provide enough alcohol so that each guest has 2 drinks for the first hour of the party, followed by 1 drink for every additional hour of the party.^{[2]
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3
Make a guest list for the party. If you’re having a formal or slightly formal party, you’ll need to send out invitations. The list can guide you for the amount and types of alcohol you should get. If it's not a formal, invite-only party, then estimate the number of people that you think may show up. Even a rough figure can help you estimate how much alcohol to buy.
- Write a note next to each guest’s name to remind yourself how much and what the person drinks. You can categorize guests by “light drinker, average drinker, heavy drinker.” Add a note of “wine,” “liquor,” or “beer” to help guide you on what specific alcohol and quantities you may need to buy. Make sure to throw away the list before the party so you don’t offend anyone.^{[3]
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4
Make final calculations on alcohol quantities. Once you have your guest list or estimate of how many people will attend and what they will drink, you can put together a shopping list. Make sure to overestimate a bit so that you don’t run out of alcohol during the party. You can always save extra for yourself or the next party.^{[4]
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- Feel free to play with the ratios of beer, wine, and liquor depending on your audience and occasion. For example, you might want more beer than liquor for a World Cup party. A formal dinner might serve more wine. For a crowd under 35, get more vodka, rum, and beer.^{[5]
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- Select as wide a variety of alcoholic beverages as you can. If you know for sure that none of your guests will drink a beverage of a certain type, then don’t buy it. Otherwise, try to offer a combination of beer, wine, and several liquors. For reference, a 750-ml bottle of wine has about 5 servings and the same size bottle of liquor will have about 16 drinks. For beer, if you have having a larger group, you may want to get a keg or half keg. If you serve beer in 10-ounce cups, a keg will have about 200 servings and a half-keg 100 servings. For smaller parties, get cans or bottles of beer.
EXPERT TIP

Rachel Weinshanker
Certified Party Planner
Rachel Weinshanker is a Certified Event and Wedding Planner and the Owner of San Diego Life Events, an award-winning wedding and event planning business based in San Diego, California. Rachel has over eight years of event planning experience, and her work has been featured in many notable publications. San Diego Life Events has been awarded the Wedding Wire Couple's Choice Award in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Rachel is a graduate from San Diego State University.

Rachel Weinshanker
Certified Party Planner

Expert Trick: To avoid under- or over-buying alcohol for your party, plan for each guest to have 2 drinks during cocktail hour and one drink every hour thereafter. You don't need to include guests under the legal drinking age, but do be sure to have non-alcohol options for them and any other guests who don't drink alcohol.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Getting Alcohol and Supplies

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Purchase your alcohol. There are a wide variety of places that sell alcohol. You can get what you need for your party at both online and in person at liquor stores, beer distributors, grocery stores, and some large retailers.^{[6]
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- Save money on your alcohol by comparing prices. Often, online retailers or wholesale stores have lower price points. Liquor stores and beer distributors may have more of a selection, but they may also be significantly more expensive. Cut costs where you can and splurge a bit on something special like a premium liquor or wine.
- Ask store personnel if they are willing to give you a deal. Explain that you will be buying a larger quantity of alcohol and were hoping to help the local economy by supporting the business. Find out if the vendor will refund you for unopened bottles. However, don’t be too push negotiating prices or you might offend the store owner.^{[7]
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- Bring some friends or family members to help you carry your purchases.
2
Get non-alcoholic beverages. You may have people who don’t consume alcohol and many guests may want something non-alcoholic in between drinks. Make sure to have either tap or bottled water available to your guests and an assortment of other options such as soda, juice, or tea.
- Recognize that you can use many non-alcoholic drinks as mixers with liquor.
- Remember that alcohol causes the body to dehydrate, which means that your guests need to drink water to replenish lost fluids. Encourage your guests to drink more than only alcohol.
3
Provide mixers. In addition to your non-alcoholic beverage drinkers, those guests having liquor may want something with which to make a mixed drink. Having a wide variety of mixer options will keep your guests happy and can also help save on alcohol. You may also want extras such as grenadine or Angostura bitters. Consider all or some of the following mixers for your party:
- Club soda or seltzer
- Tonic
- Ginger ale
- Cola
- Diet cola
- Lemon-lime soda
- Tomato juice
- Grapefruit juice
- Orange juice
- Cranberry juice^{[8]
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Have plenty of garnishes. Some people like a garnish with their mixed drinks and some guests drinking non-alcoholic beverages may also like them in their beverages. Garnishes are relatively cheap, so you can buy extras and use leftovers for other occasions. Figure on ½ lemon, ½ lime, and two each of following for each guest: olives, cherries, cocktail or Gibson onions.^{[9]
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Cool off drinks with ice. Every person has different tastes when it comes to alcohol. Some people like warm beer, while others like ice-cold beer. Some of your guests may like their mixed drinks on the rocks or non-alcoholic beverages with a few ice cubes.^{[10]
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- Plan on buying or making 1.5 pounds of ice per person. This will ensure that you have plenty of ice for drinks and any ice baths for wine or beer.
6
Offer different foods. Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach can result in sick guests. As host of a party with alcohol, serve food—a meal or finger foods-- alongside the alcohol.^{[11]
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- Have 5-6 choices of finger foods if your party takes place outside of a mealtime. Calculate 1-2 of each choice per guest. If it is during a mealtime, you’ll need 8-10 foods. You’ll need to figure on 2-3 of each choice per guest in this case.
- Think of the type of drinks you’re serving to guide your food selections. For example, things like chicken wings, sliders, and pizza go well with beer. You could do cheese and arugula toasts with herb oil or tomato mozzarella skewers with wine. For liquors, you could do deviled eggs or a guacamole.^{[12]
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  Research source} Consider other options such as soups, tiny sandwiches, fruit squares, cut vegetables and dip, or meats such as salami.^{[13]
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- Make sure to add extras for hungry or larger men.^{[14]
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Get cups and utensils. Your guests won’t be able to enjoy the drinks and food spread you provide if they don’t have anything to drink them out of or off which to eat. Make sure you get plenty of cups, plates, utensils, and napkins for your guests. If you’re using disposable or plastic utensils, plan to get extra in case people throw them away. For cups, have guests write their names on the cups so that they can continue to use them throughout the evening.
- Buy disposable bamboo utensils if you want to watch out for the environment. Often, bamboo options look nice than their plastic counterparts, though they may be more expensive.
- Make sure to have paper towels or cloth dishtowels on hand to clean up any spills or messes. You may also want to get tablecloths to protect any tables or other furniture from spills.

Warnings

Provide a place to sleep for anyone who may drink too much. Never let an intoxicated person behind the wheel of a car.

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