750 ml or 1.75 l alcohol bottles for bartenders

The issue is probably that they are quite heavy to pour one-handed. Only solution I can think of would be to have 750-ml bottles that you pour the alcohol into to serve from. Sounds cumbersome to me, especially if you are buying a lot of alcohol.

Smaller bottles are easier to pour from. Does a local BevMo or Total Wine type warehouse in your area have smaller bottles at a lower price?

I too was thinking of just getting 1.5L bottles because of cost. We plan on only offering simple drinks. Now I’m questioning my initial plans as I had not thought about the weight and difficulty pouring.

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Yes there are but the prices from Costco are just so good.

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We were thinking of potentially doing that too.

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Same here. We would pay almost double for the smaller bottles but it would be easier for pouring.

View Quoted Comment I guess you have to decide if the time, mess, and cost of the smaller bottles is worth it for the savings you get from buying the larger bottles at Costo.



I am not surprised you are tempted by Costco's alcohol prices. You can't buy liquor at Costco in Virginia (stupid ABC laws) but the beer and wine is so cheap they actually loose money or break even when they sell it.

I'd pour the big jugs into smaller plastic pitchers. Can't do any cool bottle flipping of any kind but it would probably be the best compromise to use the big 1.75 L jugs instead of trying to refill 750 ml bottles. I think most good bartenders know their pour from pouring standard drinks on the rocks or into cocktail shakers. Ask your bartender and get their opinion.

From a professional view point, this would not be a good idea. Bottles have a standard size for a reason. Your guests will wait longer for drinks, there will be more mistakes and the bartender will have to work even harder than usual which may cost more money in the end. You should also look into liquor laws, in many states it is illegal to pour liquor in to another container to serve from. This is one of the biggest reasons why bars and restaurants only buy standard bottles.

Our caterer actually has in the contract that bottles must be 1 liter or less since anything larger is too difficult to pour. FH and I just did a wedding consultation with Total Wine and they helped us pick out a bunch of affordable options AND we can return any unopened bottles - I'd recommend seeing if there are any Total Wines or similar stores near you.

We bought our alcohol from Sam’s Club- agree it’s a lot more cost effective. Our venue also suggested purchasing from Sam’s or Costco. They didn’t say one way or another about being too difficult to pour.

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Exacty. I can't imagine needing two hands to pour one bottle and making one drink at a time. Weddings should be high-volume pacing, with high-quality product. Changing your bartender's craft and pour count will result in bad drinks, long lines, and a sour experience for your guests. Also, there may be legalities in your county.

If you do go this route or even have a more casual wedding, you can have a table with nice, iced beer buckets, or servers pass already-poured champagne for quicker options.

It would help a lot if you got the toppers that dispense 1oz at a time. It would make it so much easier for the bartenders to poor since the bottles are bigger/heavier/harder to manage. They're super cheap. something like the link below (sorry it's huge, I dont' knwo how to fix that)

https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Measured-Bottle-Pourer-Dispenser/dp/B08V1DFQD5/ref=asc_df_B08V1DFQD5/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=507599144373&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10171362160408572110&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021427&hvtargid=pla-1230246378394&psc=1

Our venue also requires it smaller bottles.

You should probably clarify with them if it's a requirement or a suggestion for the smaller bottles.

Otherwise, as Michelle pointed out, you could see if any of the liquor stores in your area will cut you a deal for ordering large quanitites of alcohol.