The arithmetic
drinks = drinkers × (2 first hour + 1 × each hour after)
The total splits across beer, wine, and cocktails by your percentages. A 750-ml wine bottle pours five glasses; a 750-ml spirit bottle pours sixteen 1½-oz drinks; beer counts itself. Non-drinkers and kids get their own line — about one soda or water in the first hour and three-quarters of one per hour after, and everyone raids that cooler eventually, which is why it rounds up.
Cooler logistics
Cans chill from warm in about 30 minutes buried in ice-and-water (a wet slurry cools far faster than cubes alone). Give beer and soda separate coolers so the kids aren’t digging past the lagers, and park them in shade with the lids actually closed.
Frequently asked questions
How many drinks per person should I plan?
The caterer’s rule: two drinks per drinking adult in the first hour, then one per hour after that. A four-hour cookout is five drinks per drinker. It looks generous on paper; across a whole afternoon it’s almost exactly right.
How much ice for a party?
One pound per guest if drinks live in a fridge, a pound and a half per guest when coolers do the cooling or the day is hot — the first bags mostly sacrifice themselves chilling the cooler and the cans. Buy it last, in 10-lb bags, and keep one bag aside purely for serving.
How much beer for 20 people?
If 12 of the 20 drink alcohol and beer is 60% of the mix over four hours: 12 drinkers × 5 drinks = 60 drinks, so about 36 beers — a case and a half. The calculator adjusts for your real drinker count, hours, and mix.
What about mixers and cups?
Per 750-ml spirit bottle, plan 2–3 liters of mixers, a bag of citrus, and 20 cups. And a self-serve drink station beats bartending — you’re running a smoker, not a bar.