Party Math: Figuring Out How Much Beverage to Serve at Your Event

Everything is ready for your event: you’ve sent the invitations, planned the menu, and decorated the space. You even made a playlist of the perfect party music. Nothing else to worry about, right? Not so fast! Unless the only libation you’re serving is water from the tap, you still need to give some thought to how much beverage to serve at your event. Whether you’re serving relaxing teas, wines, or sodas, this is important.

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed over my years of entertaining, it’s that recipes have serving sizes, but many beverages don’t. And even if they do, it’s hard to predict how much your guests will drink. Well, here’s our handy, quick-and-dirty guide to keeping the liquid flowing. Get ready to do some beverage math!

Alcohol

Let’s start with the easy stuff: your alcoholic offerings. I say these are easy because they tend to come in standard sizes and you don’t have to brew any of it yourself (unless you want to, in which case, please do!). You’ll want to estimate approximately one drink per person, per hour of the event. For this article, let’s pretend you’re hosting a three-hour dinner party for 12 people.

Wine 

I really think wine is one of the easiest beverages to buy for a party. One standard 750ml bottle yields six glasses of wine, so you don’t have to think very hard to do the math (thank goodness). Over a three-hour period, for instance, 12 guests will probably consume 36 servings of wine, which translates simply to six bottles. 

If you want something a little different, check out our unique and delicious tea wine recipe for a fun twist on traditional party drinks. 

Beer & Cider

Beer and hard cider can be easy or complicated, depending on how many people you’re serving. Unless you have some prolific drinkers in your midst, a smaller crowd will do just fine with individual bottles. 

Larger gatherings, however, might require a 7.5-gallon pony keg, which has about 80 servings, or even a full 15.5-gallon keg, which has approximately 165 servings (that would serve 26 and 55 people, respectively, over a three-hour event). For our hypothetical party of 12, we’ll buy enough cases of beer to equal 36 bottles. 

If you’re looking to serve something festive, check out our international holiday cocktail ideas for fun and flavorful drink ideas.

Hot Beverages

This gets a little trickier as you need to brew beverages like coffee and tea,  and, therefore, they require a bit more forethought (and math).

Tea

Good-quality, loose leaf tea, like our blends at Plum Deluxe, comes by the ounce, with each ounce making between 15 and 20 servings (based on an 8-ounce teacup). That doesn’t sound too complicated until you remember that you have to brew the tea, which means you’ll need to measure the correct tea to water ratio. So let’s break that down!

We’ve already stated that 1 ounce of tea makes 15-20 servings. If each serving of tea requires one teaspoon of leaves (depending on how big you make your scoops), then that means we have about 12 good teaspoons of tea on our hands. If each serving (teaspoon) requires 6 ounces of water to brew, that means we need 72 ounces (9 cups) of water to brew 1 ounce of tea.

Still with me? Great! Back to serving tea for a crowd and our three-hour party for 12. 

Assuming this is a traditional tea party, we’ll stick with the one serving per hour rule. That translates to 36 cups of tea, which means we’ll need 3 ounces of loose leaf tea and 216 ounces of water (27 cups, or a little over 1.5 gallons). If you’re serving the tea as an accompaniment to a dinner party, you’re pretty safe preparing for one serving per person, total, as not everyone will even want tea. For our little party, that means we can conveniently use the same math as for 1 ounce of tea.

At Plum Deluxe, we have all kinds of teas to suit every season, so you can always find the perfect blend for your party. Here are a few ideas:

• Serve a refreshing spring tea at a light outdoor lunch.

• Offer a cozy autumn tea full of warm spices for a harvest gathering.

• Brew a comforting winter tea to keep guests warm at a holiday party.

• Celebrate with a festive Halloween tea at your spooky season event.

• Pour a bright summer tea for a sunny garden party or picnic.

Coffee

Coffee, unlike tea, comes by the pound, and it also requires more water to brew — generally speaking, a whole 16 ounces of water per ounce of coffee beans. If a typical serving of brewed coffee is 8 ounces, that means we get two servings of coffee per ounce of beans. An entire pound, then, would yield 32 servings.

Speaking of servings, you should expect your guests to consume approximately one cup per person, per event (unless this is a brunch, in which case, double it). For the guests at our event, we’ll brew a pot with 6 ounces of coffee beans and 96 ounces (12 cups) of water for a total of 12 servings.

How Much Soda to Buy for a Party: Other Non-Alcoholic Drinks 

Okay, back to the easy stuff: your other non-alcoholic drinks like soda, lemonade, and punch. I’d estimate one drink per person, per hour of the event, plus one more each. In other words, if the party is three hours long, plan on each person having around four servings of their chosen beverage. That doesn’t mean each person will have that many drinks; some will have more and some will have less. But if you can figure out an average, you should have plenty to go around.

A 2-liter bottle of soda will give 10 8-ounce servings, while beverages that come in gallon containers will yield 16 8-ounce servings. That comes out to four drinks per person during our three-hour party, which means we’ll need five bottles of soda or three gallons of juice or a mix of both to total 48 servings.

Quick Guide: How Much Drinks to Serve at Your Party

Whether you have six guests or 50, here’s a simple breakdown to help you figure out how much wine, beer, tea, coffee, and soda you’ll need for your guests.

Quick Notes

• Wine and beer: Plan about one drink per person per hour.

• Full bar: Add about one bottle of spirits for every 6–8 guests, plus mixers.

• Tea: Plan one 8-ounce cup per person per hour for tea-focused parties.

• Non-alcoholic drinks: Estimate four 8-ounce drinks per guest for a three-hour party.

• Offer a mix of teas and sodas to keep non-alcoholic choices interesting.
  

Whew! That was a lot of math. But now that it's out of the way, it's time to pour yourself a drink and go enjoy the party!

Frequently Asked Questions

How many drinks should you serve at a party?

You should plan for about one drink per person per hour, plus one extra drink to be safe.

How much is a serving of a drink?

A serving is typically 5 ounces for wine, 12 ounces for beer, 1.5 ounces for spirits, and 8 ounces for non-alcoholic beverages.

How to calculate the number of drinks for a party?

Multiply the number of guests by the number of hours your party will last, then add a few extra servings to cover heavier drinkers or longer stays.

What is the average drink per person at a party?

Most guests will have around two to four drinks over the course of an average three-hour party.

How many gallons of lemonade for 50 guests?

Plan to serve about 6 to 7 gallons of lemonade for 50 guests at a three-hour event, assuming each person has around four 8-ounce servings.

How many gallons of drink for 50 guests?

You should prepare 12 to 13 gallons of total beverages for 50 guests, covering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options if you're offering a variety.

How many gallons of drink for 100 guests?

Serve around 25 gallons of drinks for 100 guests to ensure everyone has at least four 8-ounce servings over a few hours.