Batch Cocktail & Party Drinks Calculator
Pick a cocktail and the number of drinks you need. The calculator multiplies every ingredient, adds the water that ice would normally contribute so the batch can be poured straight from the fridge, and tells you how many bottles to buy.
Planning the whole bar? The party planner below estimates how many drinks your guests will have and turns that into bottles of liquor, wine, beer, mixers and bags of ice.
Batch a cocktail
A 2 L pitcher holds about 15 to 20 cocktails; a 5 L drink dispenser holds 40 to 50.
| Ingredient | Per drink | Total × 10 | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triple Sec | 0.67 oz | 6.67 oz | 1 × 750 ml |
| Tequila | 1.67 oz | 16.67 oz | 1 × 750 ml |
| Lime Juice | 0.5 oz | 5 oz | |
| Water (for dilution) | 0.71 oz | 7.08 oz | |
| Batch volume | 35.42 oz |
Garnish: Salt
How much alcohol for a party?
Rule of thumb: guests have two drinks in the first hour and one an hour after that. Adjust the mix of drinks to match your crowd.
- Total drinks
- 101
- Liquor
- 3 × 750 ml bottles
- Mixers
- 6 L (203 oz)
- Wine
- 6 bottles
- Beer
- 16 bottles or cans
- Soft drinks
- 3 L
- Ice
- 14 kg (31 lb)
Assumes 1.5 oz (45 ml) of liquor and 4 oz (120 ml) of mixer per cocktail, 5 glasses per bottle of wine, and 0.7 kg (1.5 lb) of ice per guest. Buy a little extra: unopened bottles keep.
Batch recipes for 10 drinks
Ready-scaled quantities for classic party cocktails, including dilution water for serving from the fridge.
- Margarita for 10
- Triple Sec 6.7 oz (200 ml), Tequila 16.7 oz (500 ml), Lime Juice 5 oz (150 ml), water 7.1 oz (213 ml)
- Negroni for 10
- Sweet Vermouth 10 oz (300 ml), Campari 10 oz (300 ml), Gin 10 oz (300 ml), water 6 oz (180 ml)
- Manhattan for 10
- Sweet Vermouth 6.7 oz (200 ml), Rye Whiskey 16.7 oz (500 ml), water 4.7 oz (140 ml)
- Cosmopolitan for 10
- Lime Juice 5 oz (150 ml), Cointreau 5 oz (150 ml), Citron Vodka 13.3 oz (400 ml), Cranberry Juice 10 oz (300 ml), water 8.3 oz (250 ml)
- Moscow Mule for 10
- Vodka 15 oz (450 ml), Lime Juice 3.3 oz (100 ml); top each glass with ginger ale
- Mai Tai for 10
- White Rum 10 oz (300 ml), Lime Juice 10 oz (300 ml), Triple Sec 5 oz (150 ml), Simple Syrup 2.5 oz (75 ml), Orgeat 5 oz (150 ml), Gold Rum 10 oz (300 ml), water 10.6 oz (319 ml)
How to batch cocktails
Multiply each ingredient by the number of drinks, then add water. A cocktail shaken or stirred with ice picks up 20 to 25% of its volume in melt water, and that water is part of the recipe. Skip it and the batch tastes hot and syrupy. Add it, chill the batch in the fridge for a few hours, and you can pour finished drinks without touching ice.
Batch fresh citrus drinks the same day: lime and lemon juice turn bitter after a few hours. Spirit-only drinks such as the Negroni, Manhattan or Martini keep for weeks in the fridge or freezer.
What not to put in the batch
Soda, tonic, ginger beer, Prosecco and Champagne go into each glass at serving time, never into the pitcher, or they lose their fizz. Egg white and cream drinks still need a hard shake per serving. Muddled drinks like the Mojito batch better with a mint syrup in place of muddled leaves.
Frequently asked questions
How much water do you add to a batched cocktail?
Add about 20% water for stirred drinks (Negroni, Manhattan, Old Fashioned) and about 25% for shaken drinks (Margarita, Daiquiri, Cosmopolitan) if you'll serve the batch straight from the fridge. Skip the water if each drink will still be shaken or stirred with ice.
How many cocktails are in a 750 ml bottle?
About 16 cocktails that use a 1.5 oz (45 ml) pour of the base spirit, or 12 if the recipe calls for 2 oz (60 ml).
How much alcohol do I need for 50 guests?
For a four-hour party of 50 guests at the usual pace (two drinks in the first hour, then one an hour), plan about 250 drinks. With half cocktails, a third wine and the rest beer, that's roughly 8 bottles of liquor, 17 bottles of wine and 43 beers, plus around 35 kg (77 lb) of ice.
How far ahead can you batch cocktails?
Spirit-only cocktails keep for weeks in the fridge or freezer. Drinks with fresh citrus are best within a day, ideally the same day. Add sparkling ingredients only when serving.
How many drinks per person at a party?
Plan two drinks per guest for the first hour and one per hour after that. A three-hour party works out to about four drinks per guest.