Plan the bar for a party or event: drinks, kegs, wine and liquor bottles, ice and bartenders.
Share of drinks by type. Should add up to 100.
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It plans the bar for a party, wedding, banquet or catered event: how many drinks to expect, how many kegs or cases of beer, bottles of wine and bottles of liquor to order, how much ice, and how many bartenders to schedule. It works for a restaurant's private events and for a mobile bar.
Enter the guest count, the hours of bar service and how many guests will drink. Start from two drinks in the first hour and one an hour after, then adjust for the crowd.
Set the mix of beer, wine and cocktails. For a beer and wine bar, set cocktails to zero. Pick how beer is served and the liquor bottle size you buy.
Order from the table, then cost it. The private events pricing guide covers turning the order into a bar package price with a real margin.
Total drinks equal drinking guests times (first hour drinks plus later drinks times the remaining hours), plus the buffer. Beer servings are 12 ounces: a half barrel gives about 165, a sixth barrel about 55. Wine is five 5 ounce glasses per 750 ml bottle. Cocktails use a 1.5 ounce pour: about 16 per 750 ml bottle, 22 per liter and 38 per 1.75 liter.
Example: 150 guests, four hours, 85 percent drinking, two drinks in the first hour and one an hour after is 638 drinks, or 701 with a 10 percent buffer. At 40 percent beer, 30 percent wine and 30 percent cocktails that is 2 half barrels, 43 bottles of wine and 10 liters of spirits, with 3 bartenders.
| Container | Volume | Servings |
|---|---|---|
| Half barrel keg | 15.5 gallons | About 165 twelve ounce or 124 sixteen ounce |
| Sixth barrel keg | 5.16 gallons | About 55 twelve ounce or 41 sixteen ounce |
| Wine, 750 ml | 25.4 ounces | 5 glasses at 5 ounces |
| Liquor, 750 ml | 25.4 ounces | About 16 pours at 1.5 ounces |
| Liquor, 1 liter | 33.8 ounces | About 22 pours at 1.5 ounces |
| Liquor, 1.75 liter | 59.2 ounces | About 38 pours at 1.5 ounces |
Planning a big bar day in your own venue rather than a private event? The St. Patrick's Day and March Madness bar plan covers forecasting and staffing a volume day.
A common rule is two drinks per drinking guest in the first hour and one an hour after that. A four hour party with 150 guests, 85 percent of them drinking, plans for about 640 drinks before a buffer. Adjust for the crowd: a wedding reception runs higher than a business mixer.
A half barrel keg holds about 165 twelve ounce servings, a sixth barrel about 55. For a four hour party of 100 with 85 percent drinking and 40 percent of drinks as beer, plan about 170 beer servings plus a buffer, so one half barrel and one sixth barrel, or four sixth barrels if you want more than one beer.
A 750 ml bottle pours five 5 ounce glasses. At five drinks per drinking guest over four hours and 30 percent of drinks as wine, 100 guests need about 130 glasses, or 26 bottles before a buffer. Split it by your crowd, often 60 percent white and sparkling and 40 percent red in warm weather.
Plan one bartender for every 50 to 75 guests with a simple menu of beer, wine and two or three cocktails, and one for every 40 to 50 with a full bar. Add a barback for every two bartenders on a large event.
Plan about 1 to 1.5 pounds per guest for drinks, and more if you are also chilling bottles and cans in tubs, which takes roughly another pound per guest.
Running events as a business? The Mobile Bar Business Bundle and the Wedding and Event Package Pricing Calculator turn this order into quotes and packages.
Price the event Cost the cocktailsRules of thumb only. Results are estimates and not financial advice.
