how much alcohol should i buy for a holiday party with 30 people?

Answer 1

If my brother is attending, better bring an extra beer truck!

Have a 'Hairy Buffalo' party. Get a brand new plastic garbage can, clean thouroughly, add a couple bags of ice, and have everyone bring a bottle of booze and pour it all in.

Answer 2

From cocktail 101 - a great resource! But in addition to this, I'd say know your audience, especially if you're on a budget. I tend to go overboard and buy way more than I need. I had a party for my husband's business associates and purchased the whole shabang only to be left over with a ton of beer - I didn't know most of them were wine people - though we had plenty of that available! Don't forget the non-alcohol alternatives, bottled water, coffee, holiday teas and soft drinks. It also depends on if it's a cocktail party, dinner party, etc.

I quizzed my caterer friends as to how they plan on the amount of drinks and how much to buy for cocktail parties. They use a formula that roughly estimates 10 people will consume 20 drinks at the average cocktail party. Make that 40 drinks if it's a full evening affair, usually including dinner. This is based on a typical 1.5 oz. shot of hard liquor.

So how many drinks can you get out of a bottle?

A 750 ml. Bottle will yield about 16 cocktails.
A liter bottle will yield 22.
a 1.5 liter bottle will yield 39.

For a party of wine drinkers, plan on stocking 5 bottles (750 ml) for 10 people. You should get roughly 5 servings per bottle.

For beer drinkers, stock 5 six-packs for ten people, based on a twelve-ounce serving. If you have the budget and inclination, you can stock a full bar. However, a more budget conscious idea is to offer a selection of cocktails that can be made from one or two primary types of liquor or to limit yourself to a wine and/or beer party.

If you do want to stock a full bar, you could go wild purchasing all kinds of exotic liqueurs and alcoholic concoctions, but most people's imbibing needs can be met by having the following on hand:

Vodka
Rum
Gin
Scotch
Bourbon
Blended Whiskey
Tequila
If you've still got budget and want to offer more cocktail choices, consider also stocking:

Kahlua® or other coffee flavored liqueur
Crème de Menthe
Crème de Cacao
Amaretto
Brandy and/or Cognac
Grand Marnier®
Drambuie®
B&B® (Brandy & Benedictine)

Answer 3

It depends on whether your guests are light or moderate drinkers and how many of them are raging alcoholics!

If I invited that many people to my place for a holiday party, I'd have a couple bottles of decent wine, some Vodka and Gin, at least 2 types of beer (1 or 2 regular and 1 or 2 lite), soda, coffee and bottled water. Some of your guests may bring bottles with them as gifts to you. You can either make them available to the guests or set them aside. Your guests that bring something with them, will usually bring something THEY like to drink, but it's not a social requirement to put their 'gift bottle' out right away.

Answer 4

if its a small party most people will drink wine and vodka also buy two twelve packs of beer (one pack light) and a liter of scotch anything left over just enjoy it yourself

Answer 5

Only ONE beer and see who's the strongest to get it !

Answer 6

loads ,you can always save whats left

Answer 7

I think ton is enough