Which Boston liquor store is best for stocking up before a holiday party?

The Wild Duck, our liquor store at 86 Massachusetts Ave in Boston, is a practical place to stock up for a holiday party because wine, liquor, beer, mixers and snacks are all in one place. Start with your guest count, work out how many bottles you need, and then choose pickup, delivery or a visit to the store. This guide goes through the quantities first, then the bottles, then how to get it all home.

How much should you buy for a holiday party?

Plan for about one drink per guest for each hour of the party, and allow a little extra for the first hour, when most guests arrive and raise a glass. This is a supply estimate for the host, not a target for guests, and it works best when you also set out plenty of food and non-alcoholic drinks. For a three-hour party with twenty guests, it comes to roughly sixty to seventy drinks in total.

Turn drinks into bottles using what a standard bottle pours. A standard bottle of wine pours about five glasses. A standard bottle of spirits makes around sixteen mixed drinks with a normal pour, and fewer if your cocktails are taller or stronger. Beer, cider and ready-to-drink cans count one for one.

Round up a little on the things that keep. Unopened wine, spirits and canned drinks will still be there after the party, so a spare bottle causes no harm. Mixers you open and chilled items are where over-buying shows, so keep those closer to your estimate.

Count only the guests who are 21 or older and will be drinking, and plan for anyone who is driving. A party runs better when the host puts out water, non-alcoholic drinks and food from the start.

How do you split the order between wine, spirits, beer and other drinks?

For a mixed group, a sensible starting split is about half wine, a quarter to a third spirits for cocktails, and the rest beer, cider and ready-to-drink cans. Move the balance toward whatever your guests drink most. A dinner party leans toward wine, while a standing party with cocktails leans toward spirits and mixers.

Our beer shelves include brands such as Sam Adams, Jacks Abby and Zero Gravity, which gives you familiar names alongside craft beer for guests who like a particular style. If you want craft beer on the table, choose a couple of styles, such as a lager and a hoppy ale, rather than many different cans. If some guests prefer apples to hops, a few bottles from our cider section round out the table.

Cans are the simplest thing to hand around when you are busy hosting. Our ready-to-drink section includes High Noon, which suits guests who do not want to mix anything themselves.

Keep the split loose. It is easier to adjust with one extra case or bottle than to plan every glass in advance.

Which wines and spirits work best for a crowd?

Easy-drinking wines work best for a mixed crowd: one dry white, one medium-bodied red and one sparkling wine cover most tastes. Guests with strong preferences can find them on the shelf, and nobody at the table is left without a glass they like.

For spirits, choose a few bottles that make simple drinks with the same mixers. Vodka, gin, tequila and bourbon each work with soda, tonic or ginger beer, which keeps your shopping list short. You can browse them together in our liquor section, or go straight to bourbon if whiskey is your main pour.

A few bottles are worth adding for the guests who like to sip. Glenmorangie 14 Year and Glenmorangie 15 Year are single malt Scotch whiskies, served neat or with a little water. CHARTREUSE Yellow Liqueur is a herbal liqueur that works in cocktails or poured on its own after dinner, and GRANJA Nomada Mezcal suits guests who want something smoky.

If you would rather not mix drinks at all, the Drinkthat ESPRESSO MARTINI is ready to pour. For home bartenders, Walnut Bitter adds depth to an old fashioned or a Manhattan.

For the toast, sparkling wine is the usual choice. Our page on cava explains the Spanish style, and our guide to choosing and serving champagne covers how to chill and open a bottle.

What should you buy besides the bottles for a holiday party?

Mixers, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are what to buy besides the bottles, and they decide whether the party runs smoothly. Guests who skip alcohol still want something good to hold, and cocktails are only as good as what goes into them.

Our mixers section covers the basics: tonic, soda and ginger beer. Fever Tree is one of the mixer brands we carry. Buy one more bottle of the mixer you use most than you think you need, because gin and tonic or a Moscow mule tends to use it up first. Our guide to the Moscow mule lists what to buy for that one drink.

For guests who are not drinking alcohol, our non-alcoholic section gives you something other than water or soda. Set these out in the same place as the other drinks, so nobody has to ask.

Food slows the evening down in a good way. Whether you cook at home or bring food in from a restaurant, our snacks section covers what to put on the table, and our page on chocolate and drink pairings has ideas for dessert. Pick up lemons, limes and ice from a grocery store, since those are not part of our range.

Which Boston liquor store is best for stocking up before a holiday party?

The best store for stocking up is the one where you can buy the wine, spirits, beer, mixers and snacks in one visit or one order. We cannot judge every shop, so here is what we can tell you about The Wild Duck in Boston.

We have more than 4,500 products in stock from more than 700 brands, spread over more than 100 categories. That range covers wine, liquor, craft beer and other beer, ready-to-drink drinks, mixers, snacks and bourbon, so a single list can be filled in one place. Our Google rating is above 4.5 out of 5 from more than 60 reviews.

Staff can help you turn a guest count into a shopping list. Tell us the number of guests, how long the party runs and what you plan to serve, and we will suggest wine and spirits to match. If you want to read more about how we think about range and service, see our pages on wine selection near Boston and service and reviews.

Can a Boston liquor store deliver or do pickup for a holiday party?

Yes. The Wild Duck provides in-store pickup, delivery and shipping, so you can choose how the order gets to your party. Pickup runs Monday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Our in-store pickup page explains how it works.

Delivery runs Monday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 10:30 PM and Sunday from 10:30 AM to 10:30 PM. We deliver to Boston, Cambridge and Brookline, and each has its own page: Liquor Delivery in Boston, Cambridge and Brookline. Our liquor delivery areas page shows what applies to your address, and the page on wine delivery in Boston covers wine orders in particular.

If you are hosting in another town, shipping is the third option. Check the details when you place the order, and allow time for it to arrive before the day of the party.

How far ahead should you shop for a holiday party?

Shop for bottles about a week before the party, and buy the chilled and perishable items in the last day or two. Early shopping gives you time to choose calmly, swap a bottle if a guest has a preference, and avoid the busiest hours in the days right before a holiday.

Wine, spirits and canned drinks keep well, so they are the first things to buy. Sparkling wine and beer need time in the refrigerator before the party, so have them home at least a day ahead. Leave ice and fresh garnishes until the day itself.

The season you are planning for can shape the list. We have pages on Halloween party drinks, Thanksgiving wine and cider, Beaujolais Nouveau and winter bourbon and red wine, and each suggests bottles for that time of year. If you are also buying presents, our gift guide and gift cards are there as well.

Where is The Wild Duck and when are we open?

The Wild Duck is at 86 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02117. We are open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM and on Sunday from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.

Those hours leave room for an evening trip after work or a morning one before you start cooking. Pickup hours start earlier, at 9:00 AM Monday to Saturday and 10:00 AM on Sunday, if you would rather collect an order before the store opens its doors to walk-in shoppers.

You can browse the full range on our store page before you come in, and read more about us on our about page. Our frequently asked questions answer the common questions about orders and returns.