Bar Basics with Jay Dickerson

If you’re having a party and you’re wondering how much it will take to satisfy most of the thirsts of your guests, and help to keep you sane while enjoying your party, here’s some expert advice from Bar Chef Jay Dickerson:

• The average party lasts for about three hours.
• Guests tend to arrive late the first hour, most everyone will be there by second hour, and most leave during the third hour.
• On the average, expect guests to drink at least 2 cocktails or nonalcoholic beverages the first hour and 1 each hour thereafter. Also remember, people tend to drink more when the weather is warm.
• 50% of your guests will drink beer if offered, and the other 50% will be split pretty evenly between wine and spirits.
• When ordering beer for a party, allow about 12 ounces per guest for every half hour to hour. For a large crowd, you might want to buy a keg.
• Figure on a pound of ice per guest. It is better to have too much than not enough.
• If you have a party of 10 people, estimate about 40 drinks will be consumed. That averages to about 20 bottles of beer, 2 bottles of wine, and about ½ to 1 bottle of spirits (total combined spirits).
• A good rule of thumb for mixing most cocktails is 3 parts base liquor, 2 parts sweet liquor, 1 part sour ingredient. (Example – Margarita: 3 parts tequila, 2 parts triple sec, 1 part lime juice.) You can adjust accordingly to your tastes.
• One signature cocktail is always a good idea, especially as a greeter. Most of your guests will have at least one, it keeps you from constantly being behind the bar and you get to enjoy your party more.
• There are roughly 5 glasses of wine out of a 750ml bottle of wine, 12 bottles per case which ends up to be about 60 glasses of wine per case.
• Always have some non-alcoholic beverages on hand. Besides having juices, bottled water, lemonade, soda and/or iced tea, consider non-alcoholic wines and beers.
• If you’re uncertain about how much to buy, ask your beverage store if you can return any unopened bottles. If you entertain frequently, you may want to plan ahead and shop in quantity.