About Stock the Event

Party quantity calculators with the whole method published.

The problem

Every event planner faces the same dilemma: buy too little alcohol and run out mid-party, or buy too much and waste money on bottles that never get opened.

Most online calculators give you a generic "1 drink per person per hour" formula. That might work for a corporate mixer, but it is wildly off for a Super Bowl party or a wedding reception.

Our solution

StockTheEvent uses a published formula you can check line by line. It factors in:

  1. Event type modifiers. Weddings drink 20% more wine; Super Bowl parties drink 40% more beer.
  2. Consumption decay. People drink faster in the first hour and slow down as the event progresses.
  3. Guest count scaling. Larger events have a lower percentage of active drinkers.
  4. A safety buffer. We add 15% so you never run out.

The formula

Base: 1.5 drinks per person per hour

Adjusted for: consumption decay curve

Modified by: event type

Scaled by: guest count tier

Buffer: +15% safety margin

Every constant in that formula is published, with worked examples and two outside comparisons, on the methodology page.

Embed it on your site

The calculator is also free to embed on your own site, with no signup and no attribution required beyond the built-in link.

Our mission

We believe everyone deserves to throw a great party without the stress of running out of drinks or wasting money on over-buying.

Who runs this site

Zachary Pearson

Stock the Event and Freezer Batch Cocktails

My wife Katie and I love to host, but we hate the hassle of mixing individual drinks all night and guessing shopping quantities. So I built this site and its sister site, Freezer Batch Cocktails (freezerbatchcocktails.com). Enter a guest count, an occasion, and a run time, and you get a shopping list. I kept the whole math model public, so anyone can double-check the numbers or adjust them for their own gatherings.

Have a question or found something that looks off? Get in touch.