An event drink calculator determines exactly how many bottles of wine, cases of beer, spirits, mixers, soft drinks, and bags of ice to buy for weddings, house parties, and corporate events. It accounts for duration, guest count, drinker ratios, and weather to minimize waste and overspending.
Tell us about your event and we'll calculate your complete bar shopping list — bottles, cases, mixers, ice, and estimated cost. All calculations happen instantly in your browser. Your data never leaves your device.
Event Basics
Drinker Profiles
How does your guest list drink? Percentages must total 100%.
Each rate below is sustained for the whole event, and every drinking guest gets one extra drink in the first hour. One standard drink is 12 fl oz of beer at 5% ABV, 5 fl oz of wine at 12% ABV, or 1.5 fl oz of spirits at 40% ABV — about 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol in each case (NIAAA and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans).
Beverage Categories
Toggle on the categories you'll serve. The drink split adjusts automatically.
Wine Split
Percentages must total 100%. Anything else is read as a ratio and normalised, so the three colours always add up to the bottle count above.
Estimated Prices Optional
Adjust prices to match your local costs. Defaults are reasonable averages.
Your Bar Shopping List
Consumption Timeline
Estimated drinks consumed per hour — expect a peak at the start!
Recommended Gear
Don't forget the essentials for your DIY bar! We recommend this heavy-duty ice cooler and a set of stainless steel cocktail shakers to keep the drinks flowing.
How the Wedding Bar Calculator Works
Planning a DIY wedding or large party means guessing how much alcohol to buy. EventBev takes the guesswork out by calculating exact quantities of wine, beer, spirits, mixers, and ice based on your guest count, event duration, and drinking habits. It even adjusts for hot weather (where guests drink more water, beer, and use more ice) and calculates a first-hour consumption spike. This tool is 100% private and runs completely in your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many drinks per person should I plan for a wedding?
The catering rule of thumb is 2 drinks per guest in the first hour and 1 to 1.5 drinks per hour after that, which is 600 to 800 drinks for a 5-hour reception with 100 guests. This calculator does not use one flat rate. You split the guest list into heavy (3 drinks/hr), moderate (2), light (1) and non-drinkers, each rate runs for the whole event, and every drinking guest gets one extra drink in the opening hour — so the light tier is exactly the catering rule, and 100 light drinkers over 5 hours returns 600 drinks. The shipped default mix of 20/40/30/10 averages 1.7 drinks per guest per hour and returns 940 drinks, deliberately above the flat rule, because a bar that runs dry cannot be restocked mid-reception. Lower the heavy and moderate percentages for an afternoon or mixed-age crowd.
How much ice do you need for an event bar?
Budget 1 to 1.5 pounds of ice per guest for chilling drinks, and another 0.5 pounds per guest for ice in glasses if you are serving cocktails. For 100 guests at a 5-hour event with cocktails, this calculator buys 200 pounds of ice — 20 ten-pound bags. It raises the chilling figure to 2 pounds per guest in hot weather, and scales the whole number up for events that run longer than 5 hours, because ice melts on a clock rather than on a headcount. Buy more than you think — running out of ice is worse than having extra.
What is the ratio of wine to beer to spirits for a party?
A common starting ratio is 40% wine, 30% beer, 20% spirits, and 10% non-alcoholic. Adjust based on your crowd: formal events trend toward more wine, casual events toward more beer, and younger crowds drink more spirits/cocktails. Always provide attractive non-alcoholic options — not just water and soda.
What counts as one drink?
One US standard drink is about 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol: 12 fl oz of beer at 5% ABV, 5 fl oz of wine at 12% ABV, or 1.5 fl oz of spirits at 40% ABV (NIAAA and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans). Every count on this page is in those units, which is why a 750 ml bottle of wine is 5 glasses and a 750 ml bottle of spirits is 16 pours. A cocktail poured with two shots counts as two drinks, so pour by measure if you want the shopping list to hold.