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Events & Courses | Podcasts | Planning Tips | The Basics

PLANNING TIPS

	RESPONSIBLE HOSTING TIPS

	HOW MUCH DO I NEED?

	PARTY CALCULATOR

HOW MUCH DO I NEED?

This is a question that is asked in LCBO stores all the time. While there is no absolute rule, here are some guidelines you may find useful:

	GUIDELINES FOR WINE
	GUIDELINES FOR SPIRITS
	ESTIMATING NEEDS FOR A LARGER SOCIAL FUNCTION
	HANDY PARTY CALCULATOR

GUIDELINES FOR WINE

A standard serving of wine is five ounces at 12% alcohol by volume. This means that you get:

• Five glasses per 750 mL bottle
• Seven glasses per litre
• 10 1/2 glasses per magnum

LUNCH
1/3 of a bottle per person will give two glasses each and should allow everyone to return to work after lunch.

CHEESE
Ask your cheese shop, but allow at least a quarter pound per person. Have a nice variety on hand, and remember to label the different cheeses so people know what they are trying.

DINNER
Dinner is usually a bigger meal than lunch and takes longer to consume. With this in mind you may require 1/2 a bottle per person, which will give three glasses each.

WINE AND CHEESE PARTY
Most guests can drink three glasses of wine in a two hour period, so you will need 1/2 a bottle per person, or more if it is an extended party.

GUIDELINES FOR SPIRITS

A 750 mL (26 oz.) bottle gives approximately 17 standard drinks. You will need three similarly sized bottles of mix. Allow three drinks per person. Guest preferences or a party theme may affect the types of spirits purchased, so the following is only a basic guide for making spirit purchases:

• 30% Canadian Whisky
• 20% Vodka
• 20% Rum
• 10% Scotch
• 10% Gin (more popular in summer)
• 10% Float or something unusual (e.g. liqueurs or Schnapps)

Extra fruit juices and soft drinks should be provided for the designated drivers and non-drinkers.

ESTIMATING NEEDS FOR A LARGER SOCIAL FUNCTION

Follow three steps when estimating your needs:

1. Calculate how many people will be drinking at the event.
2. Multiply this number by four. This tells you the maximum number of standard drinks you need.
3. Translate the number of standard drinks into cases of spirits and bottles of wine.

100 "standard drinks" = approximately:
Beer: 100 12-oz. bottles
or
Spirits: 6 750 mL bottles
or
Wine: 20 750mL bottles

Suppose you expect 200 people to be drinking at your event. The recommended number of drinks you need is 800 (4 x 200). Let's further suppose that you expect about half of the people will drink beer and the rest will be divided between spirits and wine. The 800 "standard drinks" required would be divided as follows: 400 bottles of beer (4 x 100), plus 12 bottles of spirits (2 x 6), plus 40 bottles of wine (2 x 20).

If you don't wish to calculate this on your own, try our Handy Party Calculator

Do you need a Special Occasion Permit for your larger party ?