Instead of giving you a specific drink recipe this Friday I thought I would offer some advice on how much to buy for your party if folks will be drinking alcohol. While we all want our guests to have a good time, you are not a bar and you do not have to have every kind of beer and alcohol under the sun.
Obviously there is no exact amount because people are different, moods change, and unless you hand out drink tickets – DO NOT DO THAT IT IS TACKY AT ANY EVENT – you just have to do a best guess.
- If you have a big beer drinking crowd coming to your party think about a keg. The beer tastes better and overall it is less expensive. A full key will serve about 160 cups of beer, a pony keg about 80 cups. Think about how many beer drinkers will be at your party and the average number of beers per hour, multiply that times the length of the party. If you are buying cans or bottles of beer instead of a keg, mix up the varieties with regular, light beer, and maybe a flavored beer.
- For wine plan on about 5 drinks per average bottle. There are plenty of good wines that are inexpensive too. Check with the store where you buy for help or a friend who knows about wine. If you plan on offering champagne or sparkling wine at midnight, a typical bottle will fill 6 champagne flutes. Moscato wines are really popular right now (I love them) so I would suggest having a few bottles of that!
- Liquor and Mixers are harder to figure I think. It depends on what kind of drinks your friends like and how fancy you plan on getting. About 1 1/2 ounces of alcohol per drink is average though. Consider making a “signature drink” for your party. Something you can make in batches is great so you do not spend all your time playing bartender. Name the drink something fun like “Midnight Special”, “Smithtini” (if your last name is Smith, etc). to make it more fun. It can be a regular drink recipe that you just call something else.
Remember to keep plenty of non-alcohol options available for designated drivers and those who do not wish to drink. For those who will be drinking, consider asking everyone to put their keys in a bowl on arrival so if someone has had too much to drive you don’t have to argue with them when it is time to go. Better safe than sorry.
If you need some drink recipes you can find my previous cocktail and drink recipes here on the blog or visit my Cocktail Lounge Pinterest board.
Cheers!
© 2012 – 2013, Robyn Wright. All rights reserved.
