Planning a banquet is a difficult task that seems impossible to those who do not have sufficient experience in organizing holidays. And one of the most insidious questions is the calculation of alcohol for each person at the banquet. A small company in which we know everyone makes the process of purchasing or ordering alcohol easier. But what if 30, 50 or even 100 people come to the party? In this case, you will need a high-quality calculation taking into account the type of event, number of guests, duration and other factors. Let's take a closer look at the main criteria for calculation.
Type of holiday and planning by stages
The number of alcoholic drinks depends on the purpose of the event. Weddings, birthdays, corporate feasts are the most expensive holidays in terms of purchasing alcohol. And for buffets, presentations, and business meetings, you will need much fewer bottles of drinks, and the type of these treats will be completely different.
From the point of view of drinking drinks, holidays are divided into main stages:
- Aperitif. This is the stage before serving the main courses. There are snacks on the table, and guests will enjoy drinking wine or champagne. On average, count on 200-250 grams of drink per guest.
- Main part. Here the range of drinks increases, and the calculation scheme also becomes more complicated. Below we will look at this part of the banquet in detail.
- The final. Usually it’s worth buying a few more bottles of good alcohol to finish. Not all guests will stay for the finale; many will no longer drink drinks, so 1 bottle for 10 people will be enough for you.
Selection of non-alcoholic drinks for a banquet
When purchasing non-alcoholic drinks, which are also part of the holiday budget, careful selection is required.
The following are placed on the banquet table:
- Mineral, purified water. Mineral water is best served in glass. On the label you can read the chemical composition of Borjomi or Essentukov. Purified or spring water is displayed in small plastic bottles or poured by waiters. It is necessary to take into account the supply of both carbonated and still water.
- Beer and kvass. It is rarely used at ceremonial feasts; for lovers, a minimum amount is required.
- Fruit juices. Most guests enjoy drinking freshly squeezed juices. Therefore, the choice should be maximum. Juices are served in carafes. Don't order too sweet fresh juices. It is advisable to use juices that are easy to select based on thickness, color, and pulp.
- Fruit drinks, compotes. Suitable for home holidays. But in good restaurants, chilled berry fruit drinks made from cloudberries, lingonberries, and cranberries become table decorations.
- Tea coffee. Served for dessert at home parties. In the restaurant, guests order coffee and tea individually.
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It is not advisable to use chemical-based children's soda, cider, or lemonade. Children's drinks from natural fruits can be prepared by the housewife, which are offered in good restaurants. Coca-Cola and cocktails are drunk at youth parties at home and in nightclubs. Vegetable juices from carrots and beets are rarely used at formal banquets. They can be squeezed before serving to vegetarians and healthy food lovers.
One of the most common questions when preparing for a wedding is “ Which and in what quantities should I buy alcohol?” "
Resolving this issue often confuses newlyweds. For this reason, we decided to collect all the necessary information in one article and try to answer every question related to the calculation and choice of alcohol for a wedding.
So, to calculate alcohol, we will need:
♥ Pen and sheet of paper; ♥ Guest list; ♥ Calculator.
If you have a guest list, consider the following factors:
- Duration of the banquet;
- The exact number of guests and their composition, age;
- What condition should guests be in? For example, severe intoxication or mild intoxication? This will affect the amount of alcoholic drinks;
- The time of year during which you are planning to get married;
- Banquet menu, which will certainly influence the preferences of the guests;
- The place where the wedding feast will be held. Alcoholic drinks and their distribution on the wedding day.
Selection of drinks and determination of their quantity
During the main part of the event, two types of drinks are usually drunk: wine and vodka. It wouldn’t hurt to offer an alternative to wine in the form of champagne. Those guests who do not drink vodka will obviously not be against cognac or whiskey. You don't need a lot of these drinks.
You should follow this scheme for an event that lasts about 5-6 hours:
- 1 bottle of vodka for two guests;
- 1 bottle of champagne for 2-3 guests (depending on the audience);
- 1 bottle of wine per 1 guest.
This is a universal scheme, which usually leaves a small amount of alcoholic beverages. If you're hosting an event at a restaurant where you can order extra alcohol, you can reduce the average alcohol limit a little.
For a more accurate calculation, you need to take into account individual characteristics:
- 300-500 grams of vodka, 500 grams of wine, 200 grams of champagne - for 1 man;
- 100-150 grams of vodka, 400-500 grams of wine, 200 grams of champagne - for 1 woman.
If the company is planned to be fun, then the norm should be increased slightly. This calculation also works if there are non-drinkers in the company. Of course, children should be excluded from the list.
Remember that all types of calculations should be changed individually for each company. If guests drink little, the above norms can be safely divided in half. If adult men meet in a large group, these numbers will have to be multiplied by 2.
Formulas for calculating drinks
Most often, guests at a wedding are relatives and close people. Let's roughly divide them into 3 parts:
- those invited from the groom's side;
- those invited from the bride's side;
- friends of the newlyweds (youth).
And one person hardly knows all this motley mass. Therefore, it is necessary to draw up a list in advance in which, next to each guest, note both his ability to drink alcohol and his taste preferences (whisky, white wine, vodka, etc.). Let the “three sides” - two pairs of parents and the bride and groom not be too lazy to carry out this not difficult, but very necessary work. She will help determine how much and what needs to be purchased for the celebration.
Do you know how they used to calculate offhand how much alcohol to store? For each adult, 0.5 liters of vodka and 1 bottle of wine were calculated for three. Still, there are fewer lovers of wine with a rich and varied snack than fans of strong alcohol.
Let's not be prudes - not all women will drink wine. Today, the choice of drinks is approached from a scientific point of view and calculated more precisely: so that there is enough and there are no large leftovers. A wedding is already an expensive event, so it’s better to plan ahead.
Important. The amount of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks is calculated for a banquet lasting 6 hours, presumably from 16 to 22 hours. But even if you add another hour, the consumption will not increase significantly
But even if you add another hour, the consumption will not increase significantly.
Strong alcohol
Actually, there are no big changes, only strong alcohol is counted towards the men present. The number is the same half a liter per person, although, in general, I count for all guests, it turns out to be 250 ml. But this includes not only vodka, but also cognac, as well as whiskey. The contingent is also taken into account:
- If the audience is mixed, then they take 60% vodka and 40% cognac. If your important guests include whiskey lovers, subtract 10% of the vodka and add whiskey.
- Approximately equally middle-aged people and young people, which means you need: 40% vodka; 35 – cognac; 25 – whiskey.
- When there are more young people: 35% vodka and cognac and 30% whiskey - this drink is highly respected by modern youth.
Wine
Any banquet should have bottles of good red and white wine. Its number is calculated taking into account the number of women at the banquet. To have enough, take 0.5 liters per lady.
Focus not on your taste, but on general preferences studied by marketers. They prefer semi-dry and semi-sweet red wines, and dry and semi-dry white wines.
Attention. The usual consumption of white wine per person is 200 ml, red - 300 ml.
Champagne
It is impossible to do without champagne at a wedding or any special event. Its amount is calculated as follows: 300 ml per person during the walk, plus 150 ml for everyone who will be at the banquet, excluding children.
If the famous French champagne is invariably sour, then our man prefers semi-sweet. If there are no special conditions, buy it.
Mineral water and juices
There will be people who like sparkling mineral water, so it should be on the tables. But an increasing number of drinkers prefer still water. Quantity per guest – 600 ml. Ratio: carbonated – 30%, still – 70%.
Guests prefer apple and orange juices, so it’s better to take them in half, based on the total amount - 400 ml for each of those present, including children.
The average consumption of soft drinks per banquet is 1 liter, this amount must be provided.
Calculating alcohol for a banquet using an example
It will be easier to understand how to calculate alcohol if you show everything with a specific example. Let's take a traditional banquet for 30 people (an equal number of men and women) on the occasion of a birthday. Usually the popular drinks in this case will be vodka and wine. Champagne is needed in small quantities for people who do not drink other types of alcohol.
So, the calculation will be as follows:
for 15 men you will need about 15 bottles of vodka and 15 bottles of wine, 0.5 l each;- for 15 women it is necessary to prepare 5 bottles of vodka and 15 bottles of wine;
- Additionally, 3 bottles of cognac and 3 bottles of champagne would not hurt;
- other alcoholic drinks are purchased according to the personal preferences of the guests.
Vodka
This drink can be found at any occasion, including a wedding. She is still very popular. Like other alcohol, it is calculated at 250-300 ml/person.
Also, don't forget about drinks that don't contain alcohol. One invitee should be provided with 600 ml of mineral water, of which 20% is carbonated water, and 80% is still.
If there is whiskey on the menu, it would not hurt to increase the number of drinks that do not contain alcohol. If the banquet will be held in the summer, then the amount of water and juices on the menu should be increased by 10-30%.
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By the way, if someone says that they want to drink beer, listen to them. Whatever one may say, the guest knows more about his preferences.
In most cases, guests prefer:
◊ Semi-sweet champagne; ◊ Semi-dry or semi-sweet red wine; ◊ Dry or semi-dry white wine.
Then the alcohol can be distributed throughout the wedding day:
◊ At the registry office - champagne in the amount of 150 ml per person; ◊ For a walk (2-3 hours) - water and champagne in the amount of 300 ml per person; ◊ For a buffet table - fruit drinks and juices in the amount of 150-200 ml per person; champagne and wine in the amount of 150-200 ml per person.
If you are planning a slide of champagne, you will need:
55 glasses - 10 bottles of 0.75 l 84 glasses - 15 bottles of 0.75 l 91 glasses - 17 bottles of 0.75 l 140 glasses - 27 bottles of 0.75 l
What other counting methods are there?
For particularly important events, it is possible to survey each guest. Then you can accurately calculate how much alcohol you need, as well as which alcoholic drinks you should buy. This can also be done at small events where up to 15 guests will gather.
There are other ways to calculate the amount of alcohol for a banquet.
But you should choose the simplest ones - they often turn out to be the most effective. The individual characteristics of each banquet should also be taken into account. Sometimes even the range of drinks will have to change significantly. Leave a request Wedding Private event Birthday/anniversary Graduation Corporate party Reception Conference/forum Charity evening Romantic dinner Excursions Office rental
Features of the choice of drinks
The choice of alcohol depends on the format of the holiday.
Among the usual forms in Russia we can highlight:
- traditional feast (held at a festively laid table in a city apartment, restaurant, cafe);
- elite banquet (for a limited number of guests, a separate office or banquet hall of an expensive restaurant is reserved);
- buffet (used for receptions, premieres of performances, opening of art exhibitions);
- corporate event (characterized by a variety of venues and a close social circle).
The choice of alcohol, methods of table setting, and serving strong drinks depend on the form of the banquet.
Most often served on a traditional table:
- Russian vodka. You cannot do without the traditional strong drink in Russia; it is preferred by the majority of guests. In order not to advertise the labels of inexpensive varieties on bottles, vodka is served in small chilled decanters.
- Champagne, wine. As a rule, women prefer to drink dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet wines. Expensive dessert wine and liqueurs are served with cakes and pastries. Chilled wines are served in uncorked bottles.
- Elite strong drinks. Medal vodka, expensive cognac, and aged whiskey are placed on the festive table in bottles. In the banquet room, the waiter pours the ordered drink for each guest. At buffet tables, cognac and whiskey are poured into special glasses or glasses in advance and are not refrigerated. For whiskey, ice is served in separate vases.
- Mineral, spring water, fruit juices - served in glass or small plastic containers. One and a half liter cylinders are not placed on the table.
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At a wedding, the amount of champagne increases. Guests drink a glass of champagne during the bride price at the wedding ceremony. Two or three glasses should be provided for the duration of the wedding walk or photo shoot. At the beginning of the wedding feast, guests are limited to the first glass of champagne. Therefore, plan on a bottle of sparkling wine for your wedding guest. Since it is impossible to calculate the exact quantity, buy 4-5 spare bottles.
