Many people throw parties and offer alcohol to their guests, be it beer, wine or spirits. However, you may be wondering which ones to buy and in what quantity. Alcohol can in fact be expensive, so the goal would be to buy what you need while staying within your budget. By calculating how many spirits you need before buying them, you can organize a beautiful party for all the attendees.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Calculating How Much Alcohol Do You Need
Step 1. Establish a budget
Before thinking about who to invite and how many alcohol to buy, it's important to budget for your party. This way you will avoid spending too much and you can choose the best drinks for your party.
- The decision on how much to spend will guide your choices. For example, with a budget of € 150, you could dedicate half that amount to alcohol and the other half to food. But if you want to invite friends to a wine tasting, you might want to spend more on some quality bottles and offer them 2-3 small snacks.
- Consider asking your guests to bring a bottle of wine, beer, or other liquor. This would allow you to focus on only certain types of alcohol.
- Decide what to offer your guests. If you offer alcohol, you will probably also want to offer snacks or other food such as pizza or burgers.
Step 2. Decide on the size and type of the event you will organize
The bigger the party, the more alcohol is required. For each type of event, however, the amount of alcohol required varies. For example, a simple lunch doesn't require as much alcohol as an aperitif or a wedding reception.
Decide the length of the party. The longer the event goes on, the more alcohol you will have to offer your guests. A good party rule is to provide enough alcohol for each guest to have 2 drinks in the first hour, plus 1 drink for each hour thereafter
Step 3. Make the guest list
If your event is formal, you will need to send out invitations. The list can help you figure out how many and which spirits you should buy. If your party isn't formal and anyone can attend, estimate the number of people who might show up. Even a rough approximation will help you figure out how many drinks you need to buy.
Write a note next to each guest's name to remember how much that person drinks. You can sort the participants like this: "drinks a little, drinks an average amount, drinks a lot". Add to the note, "wine", "liquor" or "beer" to guide the choice of spirits. Make sure you throw the list away before the party, to make sure you don't offend anyone
Step 4. Make final calculations on quantities
After you have made your guest list or have estimated how many people will attend the party and what they will drink, you can prepare your shopping list. Make sure you buy more alcohol than you think you will need, so you don't risk running out of it during the party. You can always use the remaining bottles for the next occasion.
- Change the relationship between beer, wine and spirits, based on guests and occasion. For example, for a party at the football world cup final, you should buy more beer than spirits. At a formal dinner, serve more wine. For guests under 35, offer vodka, rum and beer.
- Offer the greatest possible variety of drinks. If you know for sure that none of your guests drink a specific alcohol, don't buy it. If not, try serving a combination of beer, wine, and lots of spirits. For reference, a 750ml wine bottle holds about 5 glasses, and with a liqueur bottle of the same size you can make 16 cocktails. As for beer, if you have a lot of guests, you can buy a 30-liter keg of beer. If you serve beer in 300ml glasses, one keg holds about 100 glasses. For smaller parties, buy cans or bottles of beer.
Part 2 of 2: Purchase alcohol and supplies
Step 1. Buy alcohol
You can do this in many different stores. You can find what you need on the internet or in supermarkets, liquor stores and grocery stores.
- Save on alcohol by comparing prices. Often, online or wholesale stores charge lower prices. In liquor stores, the selection will be wider, but the expense will also be much higher. By reducing costs, you can afford to buy a bottle of high quality liquor or wine.
- Ask the store staff where you are shopping if you can get a discount. Explain that you want to buy a large amount of alcohol and that you hope to help the local economy by supporting the business. Find out if the seller offers a refund for unused bottles. Don't overdo the negotiations too much though; the shop owner may not like it.
- Ask some friends or family to help you carry your groceries.
Step 2. Get some soft drinks
Your party may be attended by non-drinking people, and many guests will enjoy something non-alcoholic to drink between drinks. Make sure everyone has water and an assortment of other options, such as soda, juice, or tea.
- Consider that you can make many cocktails by mixing soft and alcoholic drinks.
- Remember that alcohol causes dehydration and your guests will therefore need to drink water to replenish lost fluids. Encourage them not to drink only alcohol.
Step 3. Serve drinks to make cocktails
In addition to non-alcoholics, guests who appreciate spirits also want something with which to make a cocktail. By offering many different drinks, you will please your guests and save on alcohol. Here are some of the most used drinks for cocktails, to which you could add special products, such as grenadine or angostura:
- Sparkling water
- Tonic water
- Ginger ale
- There
- Diet cola
- Lemon or lime drink
- Tomato juice
- Grapefruit juice
- Orange juice
- Cranberry juice
Step 4. Purchase lots of toppings
Some people like to garnish their cocktails and non-alcoholic drinkers may decide to do so too. These are quite inexpensive products, so you can buy them in bulk and use leftover ones for other occasions. Try to have half a lemon, half a lime, and two of each of the following items available for each guest: olives, cherries, spring onions.
Step 5. Refresh drinks with ice
Everyone has different tastes in alcohol. There are those who like hot beer and those who drink it only when frozen. Some guests may like cocktails on the rocks, others may decide to chill their soft drinks with ice.
Try to buy or make 0.75kg of ice per person. This way you will have enough cubes for all drinks, to store beers and bottles of wine
Step 6. Serve different foods
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach may make your guests feel sick. As the party organizer, you also need to serve some food - a plate or appetizers.
- Make 5-6 different appetizers if the party isn't at mealtime. Calculate 1-2 pieces of each variety per guest. During a meal, you will need 8-10 varieties of foods. In that case, prepare 2-3 pieces of each variety per guest.
- Think about the drinks you will need to decide which foods to offer. For example, chicken wings, mini-sandwiches and pizza go well with beer. If you serve wine you can instead accompany it with cheeses, bruschetta with flavored oil, skewers with tomato and mozzarella. To accompany the spirits, you can offer stuffed eggs or guacamole. Consider other dishes, such as soups, sandwiches, diced fruit, sliced vegetables with gravy, or cold cuts.
- Be sure to prepare more food if hungry or large men are attending the party.
Step 7. Buy glasses and cutlery
Your guests will not be able to enjoy the food and drinks you serve if they do not have cutlery or glasses. Make sure you buy plenty of glasses, plates, cutlery and napkins. If you choose plastic cutlery, buy more than you need to avoid problems if guests decide to throw them away before the party is over. Ask the guests to write their name on the glasses so that they can continue to use them for the duration of the event.
- If you want to protect the environment, you can buy bamboo disposable cutlery. Often, these cutlery looks better than plastic ones, but they are more expensive.
- Make sure you have enough paper towels or cloths on hand to clean up spilled drinks and dirt in general. You could also hang tablecloths to protect tables and other furniture from liquids.
