How Much Alcohol Do I Need?

How we work out your drinks

As a guide, an average guest has about two drinks in the first hour, one drink an hour for the next three hours, then about one every two hours as the night goes on. Shots come out of that total first: each shot you choose takes about 10% to 30% of the drinks depending on how popular it is, up to 40% in all. We share the rest out as roughly 40% beer and cider, 35% wine, and 25% cocktails and spirits. If you don’t choose one of these, its share is spread across the others. Within each type, drinks are split by how popular you expect each one to be, and a cocktail counts as one and a half drinks because it is stronger and slower to drink.

Non-alcoholic drinks are added on top (about one for every ten alcoholic drinks), as is coffee (about one per guest). We then add up every spirit, mixer and juice in each recipe, round up to whole bottles and packs, and add 10% extra so the bar never runs dry. Ice is based on about 0.5kg per guest, plus a little extra for shaken cocktails.

Want more or less of a particular drink? Change its number in your shopping list and everything updates.

To keep things simple, our recipes use bottled lime and lemon juice rather than fresh fruit. We supply the garnishes, so you won’t see them on your list.

All our packages are dry hire, which means you buy the drinks and our RSA-qualified bartenders serve them. We can also pick up your drinks order for $100 before the event and have it chilled and ready. Not sure what to choose? Get in touch and we’ll help you plan the perfect bar menu.