Planning an event and want the drinks handled without the full catering bill? Drinks-only catering, sometimes called bar-only or beverage catering, covers exactly that: a professional bar, the bartenders, and the drinks, with no food package attached. It's a popular pick for weddings, office parties, and private events where the food is already sorted and you just need a great bar.
This guide walks through what drinks-only catering costs, how many bartenders and how much alcohol to plan for, how tipping works, and when bar-only makes more sense than full-service. By the end you'll have the numbers to budget your event bar with confidence.
What Is Drinks-Only (Bar-Only) Catering?
Drinks-only catering is a bar service you hire on its own. The caterer brings the bar, staffs it with bartenders, and pours for your guests, without the food menu that comes with full-service catering. You get a complete bar for the event and nothing you don't need.
What's Included When You Hire Just the Bar
A drinks-only package usually covers:
Licensed bartenders for the length of your event
The bar setup, glassware, ice, and equipment
Mixers, juices, syrups, garnishes, and bar fruit
The alcohol itself on a full bar package, or a mixer package where you supply your own bottles
Setup and breakdown
Liquor liability coverage
Some hosts want a full premium bar with spirits, beer, wine, and cocktails. Others keep it to beer and wine or a mixer package and bring their own alcohol. A good bar caterer builds the package around your event, not the other way around.
Drinks-Only vs. Full-Service Catering: When Each One Fits
Here's the quick comparison:
|
|
Full-service catering |
|
|---|---|---|
|
What it covers |
Bar, bartenders, and drinks |
Food menu, dining service, and the bar |
|
Best when |
The food is already handled |
You want food and bar from one team |
Go drinks-only when the food is already covered, say a venue that caters in-house, a food-truck reception, or a potluck-style gathering, and you just need a proper bar. Go with full-service bar and beverage catering when you want it all from one team, since bundling often saves on staffing, rentals, and delivery. Not sure which way to go? Start with your venue's rules. Some venues require a licensed vendor for any alcohol service, which points you toward a bar caterer either way.
How Much Does Bar Service Cost?
Bar service is usually priced one of two ways: per guest, or per hour. Per-guest pricing bundles the drinks and staffing into one number based on your headcount. Per-hour pricing charges for the bartenders' time, with alcohol billed separately or supplied by you. Most caterers quote each event, since the right number depends on a handful of factors.
What Drives the Price
A few things move the total up or down:
Guest count. More guests means more drinks and more bartenders.
Package level. A full premium bar with top-shelf spirits and cocktails costs more per guest than beer and wine.
Service length. A five-hour wedding reception runs higher than a two-hour cocktail hour.
Hosted or cash. A hosted bar, where you cover the tab, costs more than a cash bar, where guests pay.
Staffing. Bartenders are billed by the hour, and busy events need more of them.
As a rough guide, here's where bar service tends to land in most markets:
| Line item | Typical range |
|---|---|
|
Bartender, per hour (each) |
$45 to $75 |
|
Full hosted bar, per guest |
$15 to $45 |
Treat those as ballparks, not quotes, since markets and events vary a lot. For an exact number, a quick quote against your guest count and timeline is the only reliable way.
Open Bar, Cash Bar, or Limited Bar
The bar type you pick is one of the biggest cost levers:
| Bar type | How it works | Cost to you |
|---|---|---|
|
Open (hosted) bar |
You cover everything your guests drink |
Highest |
|
Cash bar |
Guests buy their own drinks |
Lowest |
|
Limited / partially hosted |
You host beer, wine, and maybe one signature cocktail, guests pay beyond that, or you set a tab limit |
Middle |
Plenty of hosts land on a limited or partially hosted bar to keep guests happy without an open-ended tab.
How to Size Your Bar for Your Guest Count
Two questions decide whether your bar runs smoothly: how many bartenders you have, and how much alcohol you stock. Get these right and lines stay short and nobody runs dry.
How Many Bartenders You Need
A common rule of thumb is one bartender per 50 guests for a standard hosted bar. Cocktail-heavy menus, fast crowds, or premium service call for more. Here's how that plays out:
| Guests | Bartenders (hosted bar) |
|---|---|
50 |
1 |
100 |
2 |
150 |
3 |
200 |
4 |
Add a bartender if you're serving lots of made-to-order cocktails, since those take longer to pour than beer and wine. A good caterer sizes the team for you based on your headcount and menu.
How Much Alcohol to Plan For
A reliable planning estimate is about two drinks per guest in the first hour, then one drink per guest each hour after. For a 100-guest, four-hour event, that works out to roughly 500 drinks.
For the mix, a classic starting split is:
| Drink type | Share of the bar |
|---|---|
|
Liquor or cocktails |
50% |
|
Wine |
25% |
|
Beer |
25% |
Adjust to your crowd. A summer afternoon event might skew toward beer and wine, and an evening reception often leans on cocktails. Running a full bar package? The caterer handles the quantities. Supplying your own through a mixer package? These numbers give you a shopping list to start from.
Tipping Your Bartender
Tipping depends on how your bill is structured. If gratuity is already in your catering contract, and many full-service quotes add 18 to 20%, extra tipping is optional and at your discretion. If it isn't included, 15 to 20% of the bar total is a standard thank-you for good service.
At a cash bar, guests usually tip the bartender directly, around $1 to $2 per drink, the same as they would at any bar. A quick read of your contract tells you which setup you're working with, so there are no surprises at the end of the night.
Do You Need a Licensed Bartender?
For any event serving alcohol, the short answer is yes, you want a licensed and insured bartender, and many venues require it.
Why Licensing and Liability Matter
A licensed bartender is trained to serve responsibly, check IDs, and handle over-served guests, which protects you and your venue from liability. Liquor liability insurance matters just as much. If something goes wrong, you don't want the exposure landing on you. When you hire a bar caterer that holds a liquor license and carries coverage, like fundamental, the responsibility sits with the pros. You can read more on our bar services page.
Who Holds the License at Large Venues and Live Events
At big venues, stadiums, arenas, and theaters, the venue usually holds the alcohol license and the bar vendor operates under it. At a private event, your caterer brings the license. The distinction matters for concerts, sporting events, and other large-format shows, where the bar runs as a contracted service. If you're a venue or promoter staffing a bar at that scale, our live event bar partnerships page covers how it works.
Drinks-Only Bar Catering FAQ
How much does it cost to hire a bartender for a party?
Most bartenders run around $45 to $75 per hour each, with the total depending on how many you need and how long your event runs. A small party often needs just one, so a few hours of service stays a modest line item.
How many bartenders do I need for 100 guests?
Plan on two bartenders for 100 guests at a standard hosted bar, and add a third if you're serving a lot of made-to-order cocktails or want shorter lines.
How much alcohol do I need for 100 guests?
A good estimate is two drinks per guest the first hour and one per hour after. For a four-hour event with 100 guests, that's about 500 drinks, split roughly half cocktails or liquor, a quarter wine, and a quarter beer.
What is the difference between drinks-only and full-service catering?
Drinks-only catering covers just the bar: bartenders, setup, and drinks. Full-service adds the food menu and dining service. You'd pick drinks-only when the food is already handled and you only need a bar.
Do I have to provide the alcohol?
Not unless you want to. On a full bar package, the caterer supplies and serves everything. On a mixer package, you provide the alcohol and the caterer brings the bartenders, mixers, and gear.
How much should I tip the bartender?
If gratuity isn't already in your contract, 15 to 20% of the bar total is standard. At a cash bar, guests usually tip about $1 to $2 per drink directly.
Ready to Plan Your Event Bar?
Whatever you're hosting, a drinks-only bar can be as simple or as full as you want. fundamental handles bar and beverage catering across Los Angeles, from full-service bar catering for weddings and corporate events, to bar service for smaller gatherings, to live event partnerships for venues and promoters.
Get a bar catering quote and tell us about your event and we'll put together a quote built around your guest count, your space, and your budget.