- ● Rule of thumb: two glasses per guest for the first hour, then one glass per hour after that.
- ● Hot weather, salty food and standing parties push consumption up — buy about 20% extra.
- ● One 3.5-litre CoolMix set pours roughly 12 to 14 glasses; enough for a 6-to-8-person gathering.
The eternal pre-party question: how much do I buy so I don't run out halfway through — and don't end up with half of it left over? Good news: there's a simple formula.
The simple formula
The rule of thumb that almost always works: each guest drinks two glasses in the first hour, then one glass every hour after that. So a three-hour party with 8 guests needs around 32 glasses — counting all drinks together, water and tea included. The main drink usually accounts for about half of that number.
What pushes consumption up?
A few things reliably make a crowd thirstier: warm weather, spicy or salty food, and parties where people stand more than they sit. Birthdays run high too — more excitement, more movement. If your party ticks any of these boxes, take the 20% buffer seriously; leftovers are a far better problem than running dry.
Running out of drinks is the exact moment a party slips out of the host’s hands.
Doing the maths with CoolMix sets
Each CoolMix set makes about 3.5 litres of ready-to-serve drink, which with ice comes to somewhere between 12 and 14 glasses — the size of a typical 6-to-8-person gathering. If you're expecting more than 10 guests, or a long night, take two sets in two different flavours: the quantity works out, and the table gets a choice.
Step by step to the right amount
- 1Pin down the guest count. Planning around “maybes” always ends in running short.
- 2Estimate the length honestly — casual get-togethers almost always run longer than planned.
- 3Do the formula: two glasses per person for hour one, one per hour after. Then add 20% on top.
- 4Buy sets to match the glass count, and don't forget water and tea — there's always someone who only wants tea.
