Plan your gathering
Drink Calculator
A little preparation goes a long way. Use our calculator to help estimate your beer, wine, spirits, and essentials. You'll be glad you did!
Your event
What will you serve?
Your shopping estimate
Adjust your event details to see your estimate.
How we estimate quantities
Alcohol servings = total guests × service hours × one drink per guest per hour. All guests are assumed to consume alcohol. The shopping buffer is applied before bottles and packs are rounded up.
Wine: five 5 oz pours per 750 ml bottle. Spirits: sixteen 1.5 oz pours per 750 ml bottle. Beer / seltzer: 12 oz cans/bottles in twelve-packs, rounded up to full packs. Toast: six 4 oz pours per 750 ml bottle, added separately.
Water: one 16.9 oz bottle per guest every two hours, rounded up to full 24-packs. Mixers: 4 oz per cocktail serving. Ice: 1.5 lb per guest for up to four hours, plus 0.25 lb per additional hour. Ice for chilling bottles or hot weather may require more.
Note: these are planning estimates only, not guarantees. Cocktail recipes, pour sizes, weather, and your guests’ preferences can change quantities. Applying a Shopping Buffer % to your calculation can help to capture and address those unforeseen changes. Hollow Cask provides bartending services; the host purchases, supplies, and owns the alcohol. Be sure to include alcohol-free options for your guests. Cheers!