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with 170 you're better off hiring a mobile bartending service because if you guess wrong you could be stuck with cases of booze after the wedding. You might want to check with Costco and see if local regulations permit the return of liquor. And you might want to check with local wine/liquor shops and see if they service large parties/conferences. Here in Cali many shops cater large functions and deliver the wines/booze/beer to the event site. Afterwards they pick-up whatever's leftover (unopened of course!) and credit your account.
1 drink = equivalent alcohol servings
Beer? 12 oz. bottles
Wine? 5 oz servings, 5 per bottle.
Spirits? 1.5 oz., 17 per 750 ml bottle. A 2 oz shot has 1/3 more alcohol than a standard drink.
Of course you will need to overbuy if you are furnishing the booze yourself, since you can't predict the ordering mix, but if you are having this catered, be sure you only have to pay for opened bottles. And depending on local laws, see if you can take home the leftovers.
The Patron is in the kitchen for the real drinkers after the food is served.
I've found I have had less waste and open bottles left when using 6oz and 2 oz for the wine and spirit calculations over the last 25years doing community crab feeds, wedding receptions and the like.
In a controled evironment like a restaurant yes, your calcs would be more efficient.
The venue where you are having the wedding does not supply booze??? In NY most places supply booze, it's included in the price per person. Some place have the option of doing a cash bar but I think that's tacky. If you have it at a VFW or nights of columbus chances are you are stuck buying the booze but almost all catering halls include this service.
Location: Approximately 50 miles from Missoula MT/38 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caco54
Daughter getting married and I need to supply the booze for the venue. Looks like 170 people all adults. Here's what I have on the list:
Vodka Tito's
Gin Boodles
Scotch Johnny Walker Black
Rye VO or Canadian Club
Bourbon Jack Daniels
Rum Bacardi
White Wine Chard and Pino
Red Wine Merlot and Cab
Beer Bud, Coors Light and a Lager
Thoughts? Additions and/or deletions? Most important how much of each? By the way it is a "drinking crowd".
.............Considering your "financial status", I'd simply buy a well stocked LIQUOR STORE and give it to your daughter and future husband for their Wedding Present.............(just make sure the location for the reception is close by to the location of the Liquor store).......and hire a couple of trustworthy young folks to be your "runners" to keep your bartender(s) well supplied with what ever they need.
I am a little confused: where is the reception being held? I ask cause most reception halls,country clubs, wedding locations have bars and bar tenders. I am thinking you are having this in a private home or something. Regardless, you can count on the younger crowd drinking white wine, beer and vodka, mostly. the older crowd the darker liqour, and either red or white wine.. I know some have said cash bar is tacky: I totally disagree. I have been to only a couple of wedding where there was unlimited alcohol. Maybe the east coast is different. The more "open" the bar, the mostly for over drinking and accidents. At our daughters wedding, here is how we handled it: open bar before dinner, 1 bottle of wine for every two guests at dinner and the rest of the evening was cash bar. Our son's wifes parents did very similar and our daugther had wine and beer before and during dinner at her younger daughters wedding; hard liquor was cash bar. At her older daughers wedding, which was very small, as it was held on a cruise ship, it was a 1'5 hour receoption with open bar, not at all day, afternoon or evening affair.
The venue for the wedding reception is a museum which will be open only for the party. That is why we need to supply everything. All eats and drinks have to be brought in as well as entertainment. We will have two bars set up. All left overs will go to me as the venue is in PA and the State store won't take returns even unopened ones. Chamber music during the cocktail hour and a half. Big swing band after that.
Thanks for all the input so far. Forgot the Cap. Morgan, a necessary addition especially for the younger crowd. Transportation to and from a hotel will be provided. This will probably run me $40K but I only have one daughter and she got a full ride to college so it is a bit of a payback.
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