How Many Drinks to Plan

Whether you’re hosting an intimate dinner party or throwing a bash for a crowd, the buying guide charts in this section can make it easy for you to determine how much liquor and wine you’ll need. A rule of thumb is one drink per hour per person, with a little extra added as insurance. Remember, liquor has a long shelf life, even opened, so it is better to buy more and store leftovers than to run out. With wine, open the bottles as needed, as unopened bottles can also be stored for another use, but opened bottles must be consumed in the next few days after the party. Always encourage the practice of designated driving at your festivities.

 For Four PeopleFor Eight PeopleFor Twelve People
Lunch4 cocktails/wine before lunch8 cocktails/wine before lunch12 cocktails/wine before lunch
 4 glasses of wine with lunch8 glasses of wine with lunch12 glasses of wine with lunch
 4 liqueurs after lunch (optional)8 liqueurs after lunch (optional)8 liqueurs after lunch (optional)
Cocktails6 cocktails/wine per hour12 cocktails/wine per hour18 cocktails/wine per hour
Dinner6 cocktails/wine before dinner12 cocktails/wine before dinner18 cocktails/wine before dinner
 8 glasses of wine with dinner16 glasses of wine with dinner24 glasses of wine with dinner
 4 cocktails/liqueurs after dessert8 cocktails/liqueurs after dessert12 cocktails/liqueurs after dessert
Evening6 cocktails/wine per hour12 cocktails/wine per hour18 cocktails/wine per hour

How Many Bottles of Wine for Dinner

Table Wines, Champagnes, Sparkling Wines average 2 servings, 5 ounces each, per person

People468101220
750ml22+3+458
1.5 liter11+222+4

Generally, bottle quantities recommended provide some small overages of wine from 10- ounces-per-guest formula; “+” indicates somewhat less than the formula and you may desire to have an additional bottle on hand.

How Many Drinks Per Bottle

Cocktails, Mixed Drinks 1.5-ounce liquor servings

Bottles124681012
750ml163367101135169203
Liter224590135180225270
1.5 liter3978157236315394473

Table Wines, Champagnes, Sparkling Wines 5-ounce wine servings

Bottles124681012
750ml5102030405060
Liter6132740546781
1.5 liter1020406081101121
3 liter204080121161202242
4 liter2754108162216270324

Standard Bar Measurements (U.S. fluid ounces)

1 pony = 1 ounce

1 ounce = 3 centiliters

1 jigger shot = 1 1/2 ounces

1 mixing glass = 16 ounces

1 splash = 1/2 teaspoon

Other Measures

1 dash = 6 drops

12 dashes = 1/2 teaspoon

1 teaspoon = 1/6 ounce

2 teaspoons = 1/3 ounce

1 tablespoon = 1/2 ounce

2 tablespoons = 1 ounce

1/4 cup = 2 ounces

1/2 cup = 4 ounces

1 cup or 1/2 pint = 8 ounces

2 cups or 1 pint = 16 ounces

4 cups, 2 pints, or 1 quart = 32 ounces

Bottle Size Measures

Split = 187 ml = 6.4 ounces

Half-bottle = 375 ml = 12.7 ounces

Fifth = 750 ml = 25.4 ounces

Liter = 1000 ml = 33.8 ounces

Magnum = 1.5 liters = 2 wine bottles

Jeroboam = 3 liters = 4 wine bottles

Rehoboam = 6 wine bottles

Methuselah = 8 wine bottles

Salmanazar = 12 wine bottles

Balthazar = 16 wine bottles

Nebuchadnezzar = 20 wine bottles

Sovereign = 34 wine bottles