For a party, allow about three drinks per person in the first hour and two per hour after that. Then decide how many of those will be non-alcoholic. Some guests won't drink all evening, such as those who are driving, pregnant friends, or colleagues who still have to drive. For them, at a four-hour party, you'll need about six mocktails per person. Guests who also drink wine or beer usually have one or two. Below you'll find out how to calculate this for your party, with a calculation table, a worked example, and the factors that push the number up or down.
In short
- The most commonly used rule of thumb is 3 drinks per person in the first hour and 2 per hour after that: for 4 hours, that's 9 drinks per person in total.
- Divide your guests into two groups. Those who don't drink will get about two-thirds of the total as a mocktail. Those who do drink, you can count on 1 to 2 mocktails.
- Put water and a simple soft drink next to it, so the mocktails don't become a thirst quencher.
- In warm weather, a daytime party, or a business drink with many non-drinkers, the non-alcoholic share increases significantly.
- Always round up: a few extra mocktails are better than a guest who switches to tap water halfway through.
Table of contents
- The basic rule: drinks per person per hour
- How much of that becomes a mocktail?
- Calculation table: mocktails per person per party duration
- How to calculate it for your party
- What pushes the number of mocktails up or down
- Mocktails alongside cocktails, wine and beer
- How we look at it
- Mocktails that are ready to pour
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
The basic rule: drinks per person per hour
Almost every drink calculation starts with the same pattern. In the first hour, guests drink the most: they arrive, get a welcome drink, toast, and quickly grab another. After that, the pace slows down. Libelle Lekker calculates with 3 drinks per person in the first hour and then 2 per person per hour. For a four-hour party, that comes down to 9 drinks per guest.
Not everyone calculates so generously. Van Reusel Verhuur holds a range of 2 to 3 drinks per guest in the first hour and about 1 to 2 per hour after that. The Amsterdams Dagblad mentions as an upper limit 2 drinks in the first hour and then about 1 per hour. The newspaper emphasizes that this applies to all drinks together and is not automatically the actual consumption.
That difference is important. Those numbers are about everything you pour: water, soft drinks, wine, beer, cocktails, and mocktails. The number of mocktails per person is therefore always a part of that total, never a number you add on top. Whoever forgets that will quickly buy twice as much.
Which variant do you choose? Take the generous rule (3 + 2) for a real party with lots of standing, talking, and dancing. Take the frugal rule (2 + 1) for a quiet drink, a dinner with a drink beforehand, or an afternoon where guests come and go.
How much of that becomes a mocktail?
This is where a mocktail calculation differs from a regular drink calculation. Your guests fall into two groups, and they drink very differently.
Guests who don't drink alcohol. Think of those who are driving, pregnant guests, people who don't want or are allowed to drink alcohol, and teenagers at a family party. For them, non-alcoholic is not an intermediate option, but the entire drink selection of the evening. Some drink water and soft drinks, but if a nice mocktail is ready, they often choose that. Allow about two-thirds of their total number of drinks as a mocktail. The rest is water and soft drinks.
Guests who do drink alcohol. They take a mocktail as a variation: between two glasses of wine, at the beginning of the evening to start slowly, or at the end if they still have to cycle or drive. For them, 1 to 2 mocktails per person is a realistic estimate. Libelle Lekker mentions as a practical menu indication 1 cocktail and 1 mocktail per person, alongside wine, lemonade, and water. The magazine also recommends limiting the number of different options.
Is the whole party non-alcoholic? Then you calculate the full total from the basic rule. Let about a third of that be water and simple soft drinks. Mocktails are tasty, but no one quenches their thirst all evening with a sweetened drink.
Calculation table: mocktails per person per party duration
This table uses the generous rule (3 drinks in the first hour, 2 per hour after that) and the distribution above. This way you can see at a glance where you end up.
| Duration of the party | Drinks total per person | Mocktails per non-drinker | Mocktails per drinker | Mocktails per person at a fully non-alcoholic party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours | 5 | 3 to 4 | 1 | 3 to 4 |
| 3 hours | 7 | 4 to 5 | 1 to 2 | 4 to 5 |
| 4 hours | 9 | 6 | 1 to 2 | 6 |
| 5 hours | 11 | 7 | 2 | 7 to 8 |
| 6 hours | 13 | 8 to 9 | 2 | 8 to 9 |
Would you rather work with the frugal rule (2 + 1)? Then subtract about a third of these numbers for the non-drinkers. For the drinkers, not much changes: one or two mocktails remains the pattern.
How to calculate it for your party
With five steps, you have a shopping list in a few minutes.
- Count your guests and divide them. Go through your guest list and note for everyone whether he or she probably drinks alcohol. If you doubt, count the person as a half non-drinker.
- Determine the duration. Don't look at the time on the invitation, but at how long people really stay. A party from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM lasts for most guests rather four than five hours.
- Choose your rule. Generous (3 + 2) for a party, frugal (2 + 1) for a drink or an afternoon with food.
- Multiply. Non-drinkers times the number of mocktails from the table, drinkers times 1 or 2. Add both together.
- Round up and add 10 percent. That is your buffer for guests who drop in later, a glass that falls over, or a mocktail that is better received than expected.
A worked example
You celebrate your birthday with 30 guests, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM: four hours. Eight guests don't drink alcohol, including two non-drinkers, a pregnant friend, and three teenagers. The other 22 do drink.
- Non-drinkers: 8 × 6 = 48 mocktails
- Drinkers: 22 × 1.5 = 33 mocktails
- Together: 81 mocktails
- Plus 10 percent buffer: rounded 90 mocktails
Distribute those 90 over two or three flavors, for example a fresh citrus mocktail, a fruity variant, and something spicy with ginger. Put water and a few bottles of sparkling water next to it for thirst. Because the party is in the afternoon, you can also set the drinkers at 2 mocktails per person: during the day more people choose something light.
From number to liters
If you order per glass, then you are ready. If you make a large pitcher yourself or buy larger bottles, then calculate back to liters. If you assume a glass with about 20 cl of drink (without ice), then you need about 18 liters for 90 mocktails. If you pour smaller, for example 15 cl in a coupe glass, then that is over 13 liters. Don't forget the ice: that takes up space in the glass, but you have to buy it separately, and you need more of it than you think.
If you want to serve a large group yourself, also read our guide about cocktails for large groups. In that you will find tips to work ahead smartly, so that you don't stand behind the bar all evening.
What pushes the number of mocktails up or down
The table is a starting point. These factors determine whether you end up at the bottom or the top of the range.
Type of guests and occasion
A family party with children and grandparents requires much more non-alcoholic than an evening with friends around thirty. A baby shower or gender reveal is often largely non-alcoholic, because the main person themselves does not drink. Calculate there as if everyone is a non-drinker. At a wedding, most guests do drink alcohol, but there a mocktail is especially welcome during the long evening.
Business drinks
At a company drink, the non-alcoholic share is usually higher than at a private party. There are more non-drinkers, colleagues who have to work again the next morning, and people who prefer not to drink anything when their boss is around. Therefore, count the drinkers at a business drink at 2 mocktails and count cases of doubt as a non-drinker. If you arrange the purchase for the whole department, then you can get a part of the budget back via a platform for cashback on online drink purchases. In our article about drinks for the company drink in December you will read how much you stock up for a New Year's Eve drink and what you pour.
Warm weather and outdoor parties
In the summer people drink noticeably more, and that extra consumption goes mainly to water and soft drinks. Mocktails ride along: on a warm afternoon a cold, fresh mocktail is often more popular than a glass of red wine. At a garden party or outdoor event, stick to the top of the table and put plenty of water out, especially if there is dancing. If you plan a school party or end-of-year party with music, then also arrange in time a good dj-set for the school party: whoever dances all evening, comes back to the bar more often.
Time and food
During the day and at a party with a full meal, guests drink less per hour, and more often something without alcohol. At an evening party with only snacks, the pace is higher. A lunch or brunch you therefore calculate with the frugal rule. An evening party with a buffet at 6:00 PM and dancing after that you calculate with the generous.
Choice and presentation
The more attractive the non-alcoholic option looks, the more often drinkers also choose it. A mocktail in a beautiful glass, with ice and garnish, is drunk differently than a pitcher of lemonade on a side table. It also helps if the mocktails get their own place on the drink menu, instead of at the bottom under the heading 'soft drinks'. Two or three flavors are enough. More options make choosing harder and cause more leftovers.
Mocktails alongside cocktails, wine and beer
If you also serve alcohol, then you don't need to make a separate calculation for every drink. Start with the total number of drinks per person and divide that over your drink selection. This is a practical distribution for a mixed party of four hours, with 9 drinks per person:
| Drink | Drinkers (per person) | Non-drinkers (per person) |
|---|---|---|
| Wine, beer or cocktails | 5 to 6 | 0 |
| Mocktails | 1 to 2 | 6 |
| Water and soft drinks | 2 | 3 |
This way you immediately see why the total number of mocktails is manageable when most guests drink, and why it rises sharply as soon as a third of your guests do not take alcohol. If you doubt the ratio between cocktails and mocktails, then you will find in our mix of cocktails and mocktails twelve recipes that work well together.
How we look at it
At parties it often goes wrong in the same way: the mocktails are underestimated. People calculate exactly how many bottles of wine they need and put a few packs of juice out for the non-drinkers. Halfway through the evening those guests are then standing with a glass of cola, while the rest toast with something nice.
Our advice: treat a mocktail as a full-fledged drink, not as an emergency solution. Count the non-drinkers at the full number, present the mocktails just like your cocktails and give them the same place on the table. You will notice that even guests who do drink take one or two, especially at the beginning and at the end of the evening.
And round up. A few mocktails that are left over, you drink yourself the next day. A guest who from ten o'clock can only get water, remembers that longer than you think.
— Ruud
Mocktails that are ready to pour
Have you calculated your number and don't want to stand mixing all afternoon? In our collection of mocktails you will find ready-made non-alcoholic drinks of bar quality, made with premium ingredients. Open, pour over ice, garnish and serve: this way the last guest gets the same quality in the glass as the first.
If you combine them with cocktails, then our cocktail boxes are an easy way to bring multiple flavors into the house at the same time. If you order for more than €75 in the Netherlands or €100 in Belgium, then the shipping is free. In Amsterdam you can also pick up your order directly. For a larger party or a business event, we gladly think along about customization and catering via our event service.
Frequently asked questions
How many mocktails per person should you plan for a 3-hour evening?
For guests who don't drink alcohol, plan on 4 to 5 mocktails, in addition to water and soft drinks. Guests who do drink usually have 1 to 2. Add both groups together and include a buffer of about 10 percent.
How many mocktails do you need for 50 guests?
That depends on how many guests don't drink and how long the party lasts. For 4 hours, 10 non-drinkers and 40 drinkers, you'll need 10 × 6 plus 40 × 1.5, so 120 mocktails, and with a buffer, about 130. If the party is completely alcohol-free, plan on about 300 mocktails plus water and soft drinks.
Should I also buy soft drinks and water if I'm serving mocktails?
Yes. Mocktails are usually sweetened and are drunk as a treat, not to quench thirst. For non-drinkers, plan on about a third of their drinks being water or soft drinks, and make sure there is always cold water within easy reach.
How many different mocktails should I offer?
For most parties, two to three flavors are enough: for example, something refreshing, something fruity, and something spicy. This gives everyone a choice, while keeping the quantities per flavor manageable and leaving little over.
What if I don't know who drinks alcohol and who doesn't?
Then count a quarter of your guests as non-drinkers and the rest as drinkers with 2 mocktails per person. For a business drinks reception or a daytime party, increase that proportion to a third. That is a safe middle ground that will rarely leave you short.
Sources
- Libelle Lekker: Which drinks (and how many) should I provide for a party?
- Amsterdams Dagblad: Forty guests on the third floor, how much beer and wine will you go through?
- Van Reusel Verhuur: Party and drinks, how to calculate how much you need
