Batch and party-size calculator
Mixing drinks one at a time at a party means you never leave the kitchen. Stirred drinks batch beautifully: mix everything ahead, add the water the ice would have added, chill hard, and pour. Here is the arithmetic for every drink on this site.
Rules for batching
- Stirred drinks are ideal. Manhattan, Martini, Negroni, Old Fashioned, Boulevardier: mix with the water, bottle, and keep in the fridge, or the freezer for drinks above about 25% alcohol (they will not freeze solid). Pour straight into chilled glasses.
- Citrus drinks: squeeze the juice the same day and keep the batch cold. Either shake each serving briefly with ice, or add the water and serve over ice. Batched citrus loses its brightness within hours.
- Never batch the bubbles. Soda, tonic and sparkling wine go into each glass at the last moment.
- Egg white and cream: do not batch; shake to order.
- Bitters scale less than linearly for some tastes; mix with 80% of the scaled dashes, taste, then add.
Worked examples: ten drinks, ready to pour
Manhattan × 10
| 600 ml 20.3 oz | Rye whiskey |
| 300 ml 10.1 oz | Sweet (red) vermouth |
| 20 dashes | Aromatic bitters (Angostura-style) |
| 400 ml 13.5 oz | Cold water (the dilution) |
Makes about 1320 ml (45 oz) at 25.6% ABV: 132 ml (4.5 oz) per glass.
Negroni × 10
| 300 ml 10.1 oz | London dry gin |
| 300 ml 10.1 oz | Sweet (red) vermouth |
| 300 ml 10.1 oz | Red bitter aperitivo (Milan-style, about 25%) |
| 360 ml 12.2 oz | Cold water (the dilution) |
Makes about 1260 ml (43 oz) at 20.0% ABV: 126 ml (4.3 oz) per glass.
Dry Martini × 10
| 600 ml 20.3 oz | London dry gin |
| 150 ml 5.1 oz | Dry vermouth |
| 330 ml 11.2 oz | Cold water (the dilution) |
Makes about 1080 ml (37 oz) at 26.2% ABV: 108 ml (3.7 oz) per glass.
Old Fashioned × 10
| 600 ml 20.3 oz | Bourbon |
| 50 ml 1.7 oz | Rich syrup (2:1) |
| 20 dashes | Aromatic bitters (Angostura-style) |
| 300 ml 10.1 oz | Cold water (the dilution) |
Makes about 970 ml (33 oz) at 28.6% ABV: 97 ml (3.3 oz) per glass.