How many drinks do I need for my party? Party planner
Enter your guests and how long the party lasts. The tool estimates how many standard drinks to plan for and turns that into cans of beer, bottles of wine and bottles of spirits. The amount people drink per hour is our estimate: change it to fit your guests.
Loading the tool. It needs JavaScript.
How to use the party planner
Set the number of guests, the hours, and the share of guests who drink alcohol. Set the mix of beer, wine and spirits. The default of one drink per drinking guest per hour is our estimate, not a published figure: raise or lower it. The tool adds a suggestion for non-alcoholic drinks.
The maths
One US standard drink is 14 g of pure alcohol (NIAAA), the same unit as in our units calculator. A 12-fluid-ounce can of 5% beer, a 5-fluid-ounce glass of 12% wine and a 1.5-fluid-ounce shot of 40% spirits are each about one standard drink. A 750 ml bottle holds about 5 glasses of wine (25.4 fluid ounces) or about 17 shots of spirits.
What this tool does not do
It does not estimate blood alcohol or whether anyone can drive. Plenty of food, water and non-alcoholic drinks help guests, and no level of alcohol is risk-free (WHO). If you host, plan how your guests get home safely.
General information, not medical advice. The amount per guest is our estimate.
Free download
Drink Strength, Calories and Units Cheat Sheet (PDF)
Alcohol strength, calories, sugar and standard drinks for beer, wine, spirits and liqueurs. Every line shows its source and the date we read it. Print it and keep it where you store your drinks.
- US standard drinks (14 g alcohol, NIAAA) and UK units (8 g, UK Chief Medical Officers)
- USDA values for typical drinks and maker-page values for named brands
Thank you
Your chart is ready
We use your email only for this download.Also free:
Home Bar Storage Chart (PDF)Milk and Dairy Storage Chart (PDF)Juice, Soda and Water Storage Chart (PDF)Coffee, Tea and Hot Drinks Storage Chart (PDF)Want the full pack? About 10 printable sheets: a larger chart for each drink type, a “has it gone off?” checklist, date labels, a party planner and an inventory sheet.