Hi all! Merry Christmas!
I am planning to have a house party (in South East Melbourne) near the end of January, and am looking for a cheap way to buy alcohol for around 35 people.
Is anyone aware of any discount/ clearance centers or other techniques to get the best price possible?
I've never purchased this much alcohol before and am a little out of my depth.
Cheers :)
Running a single keg at a time will help people pace themselves too. A punch bowl too people tend not to drain as fast as a bottle of spirits left on the table.
Kegs are a gimmick from American movies, and short of those little prop kegs, they start at 50-60L, so each of the OP's guests will need to drink about 1.5L each. Half of them might easily not like beer or be watching their carbs, so double it for the beer drinkers. Compare $/pot and it's only marginally cheaper than buying cases at Dan Murphy's. So buy a couple of cases, and use the rest of your budget on ciders, wine, and spirits to keep everyone happy.
It’s normally more expensive to buy a keg, plus you get a lot of wastage if untrained people pour it. And is harder to store any leftovers.
Previous post from person, who does keg hire on the Gold Coast, with detailed explanation why kegs are no longer a cheap alternative.
Bottom Line:
Aldi is a safe bet. Just get the red and white wine. Maybe not the cheapest beer though.
Aldi wine not good as far as Im concerned
Not possible. I tried for a party to buy in bulk, but they charged a lot more for bigger containers (ie keg or bottle) or if you buy a lot at normal price, they will refuse to sell to you unless you pay the delivery fee. I ended up going to several stores to buy "normal" amounts.
I'd be interested if anyone knows a way to bulk but alcohol.
Or simply tell guests to byo.
Yup, done plenty, been to plenty. Always the easiest option.
Everyone gets what they want, and only have them selves to blame for any dramas.
Likely going to be pretty tough to beat something like discount Dan murphys gift cards.
35 people worth isn't a quantity for any bulk suppliers to bother with and the margins on stuff like beer isn't that much.
Hey sbob just wondering how you get discount Dan's cards? Cheers
I've thrown a lot of parties. The alcohol is always over estimated.
For 35 people I would buy 3 or 4 cases if beer that I like for left overs, 6 champagne, 6 whites, 6 reds and a bottle of scotch and a bottle of vodka that I would leave in the cupboard with a cheery, "hey, let me know if you don't drink beer or wine, there's some scotch and vodka inside".
Buy lots of bottles of soft drink. If you buy cans, expect to find half full cans in the garden and behind the sofa for days after.
With that lot, you might run out of something, but people will drink something else.
And you'll have a few left overs likely.
A few goon bags hung up on the clothes line will suffice.
Don’t forget ‘coke’ with your drinks. Enjoy
Hope for a 10% flat rate cashback with shopback or cash rewards.
Or if u have iphone, use prezee and zip pay to get 10% off dan murphy cards tomorrow
Take several international trips in the past and always max out your duty free. Since that's not possible…. Get your guests to bring something.
Just have a signature drink and that's it. :)
Don’t prebuy too early as you may not legally be able to have 35 at a party, unless you have inside info we don’t.
Plus parties with free drinks tend to get bigger and bigger, you find friends for the night you never knew you had.
In other words, buying friends with free drinks only lasts as long as the drink.
Good luck, finding the drink cheap, will probably be the least of your financial issues.
Find a friend who works for Woolworths, staff get 10% off at BWS that's a start
You turn it into a "black tie" cocktail party where each are requested to bring a bottle of spirit.
All you are required to do it provide cordial/milk mixers, ice, a couple of electric blenders, and a couple of streamers and balloons.
Get smart….. after the party…. you will be left with so much un-used alcohol, that this alone would last you years.
Jst do a scan of liquor specials between now and then
Easiest is 2 cases of beer, couple bottles of red and white, and a couple bottles of spirits.
BYO if you want something specific.
You could add to the invite "Bring a bottle of something you would like to drink to share", and then provide some basics at the party (e.g. case of beer, some wine, some mixers) and that way everyone will be happy :)
This means everyone has something they like to drink, as it can be hard to cater for everyones preferences these days (low carb beer, organic wine etc)
Costco
Might want to look in to getting a keg if the main alcohol will be beer.
Not sure on Melbourne places to get them or current pricing, but in previous experience it should be a good saving over cartons.