Guides / Planning

How Much to Buy for a Party

The two ways to ruin a party are running out early and buying so much you’re drinking leftovers till spring. Here’s the simple math that lands you in the middle — how many shots a bottle really pours, and how much to buy for your headcount.

How many shots are in a bottle?

A standard shot is 1.5 oz. Here’s what the common bottle sizes give you at that pour:

• 750 ml (a standard “fifth”): about 16 shots (25.4 oz).
• 1 liter: about 22 shots (33.8 oz).
• 1.75 liter (a “handle”): about 39 shots (59 oz).
• 375 ml (a “half”): about 8 shots.

If you pour smaller 1 oz shots you’ll get roughly 25 out of a 750 ml bottle; if you pour big 2 oz shooters, closer to 12. Glass size matters — see shot glass sizes and types.

How many shots per person?

A useful planning rule for a party where people are drinking shots (not sipping wine all night):

• First hour: plan for about 2 shots per guest — arrivals and the first toast.
• Each hour after: about 1 shot per guest per hour.

So for a guest at a 3-hour party, that’s roughly 2 + 1 + 1 = 4 shots. These are averages — some guests will have none, some more — but across a group it evens out well.

A worked example

Say you’re hosting 20 people for 3 hours:

• 20 guests × 4 shots = 80 shots total.
• At ~16 shots per 750 ml bottle, that’s 5 bottles (80 ÷ 16).
• Buy 6 to have a comfortable cushion — you never want to end the night on fumes.

Doing this for a specific recipe with several ingredients? The Party Shot Calculator turns your headcount into an exact shopping list — how much of each liqueur and mixer to buy — so you don’t have to do the fractions by hand.

Don’t forget the extras

• Ice: plan about 1 to 1.5 lbs of ice per guest — more in summer. It always goes faster than you think.
• Mixers & chasers: juices, sodas and lime for chasers; a 2-liter of soda covers roughly 10 servings.
• Garnishes: limes, salt, sugar rims, whipped cream for dessert shots — check your recipes and add a little extra.
• Non-alcoholic options: always have a couple of alcohol-free shots so every guest has something to toast with.

Match the shots to the occasion

Pick a theme and let it guide the menu — browse shots by occasion for birthdays, Halloween, or a bachelorette. A short, tight menu of two or three crowd-pleasers is easier to batch than ten different shots.

Host responsibly. Always offer food, water and non-alcoholic options, and make sure guests have a safe way home. Never serve anyone underage. More in our note on responsible drinking.