For the wedding, the Christmas party or the long lunch

Wedding and party alcohol calculator

Plan on one drink per guest for every hour, and five glasses to a bottle of wine. So 100 guests over 5 hours need about 500 drinks. That's 300 cans of beer, 30 bottles of still wine and 27 of sparkling, which covers a toast for everyone.

Barello is a home cellar and bar app that tells you what to open tonight, what to keep, and what you can mix from what you have. It's free, and after the party it keeps track of what's left.

Your party

How much to buy

Guests who drink Hours of drinks Drinks each Serves

Of every 10 drinks, how many are

Still wine Sparkling wine Beer or cider Spirits with a mixer Cocktails

A glass of sparkling each for a toast

500 drinks for 100 guests over 5 hours.

Still wine	30 bottles (750 ml)
Sparkling wine	27 bottles (750 ml)
Beer or cider	300 cans or stubbies (375 ml), 13 cartons of 24
Ice	63 kg of ice
Standard drinks	833 in all, about 8.3 a guest

A drink here is a 150 ml glass of wine, a 375 ml can of beer or a 30 ml nip of spirits. In the US it's 5 oz, 12 oz and 1.5 oz. A toast flute is 125 ml, six to the bottle. A cocktail takes about 60 ml of spirits, and a mixed drink three parts mixer to one of spirit. Bottles are rounded up.

For a 5-hour party

At a drink each an hour. Six in ten are beer or cider, the mix suggested by Dan Murphy's, an Australian bottle shop chain. The rest is wine, plus a toast.

Guests	Wine bottles	Sparkling	Cans	Ice kg
20 guests	6	6	60	13
50 guests	15	14	150	32
100 guests	30	27	300	63
150 guests	45	40	450	94

Questions people ask

How much alcohol do I need for 100 guests?

For 100 guests over 5 hours at a drink each an hour, plan on 500 drinks. With six in ten of them beer or cider, that's 300 cans, 30 bottles of still wine and 27 of sparkling, counting a toast for everyone. Allow 63 kg of ice.

How many bottles of champagne do I need for a toast?

One bottle for every six guests. A 750 ml bottle pours six 125 ml flutes filled two thirds of the way, so 100 guests need 17 bottles.

How many drinks per person should I plan for?

Start at one an hour and adjust for your crowd. An adult takes at least an hour to clear one standard drink, and a glass of wine is about one and a half. Dan Murphy's plans on one and a half drinks an hour. Australia's guidelines say no more than four standard drinks a day. 5 drinks and a toast come to about 8 standard drinks a guest, so buying less is fine.

Keep track of what's left after the party. Barello holds the wine and the bar in one place the whole house shares.

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Sources: Australian Government standard drinks guide · NIAAA, what is a standard drink · NHMRC alcohol guidelines · NHMRC practical information · Dan Murphy's party maths · Comité Champagne · Reddy Ice · Fever-Tree gin and tonic · Barello's cocktail library.