Can I bring Drinks to a Potluck?

Have you ever been to a party with wonderful food and awesome desserts, but not a drink to be found anywhere? Nope! Neither have I!

This is because drinks are an absolute must when you have guests and food! Whether you lack cooking skills, time, or energy to make a dish for a potluck, drinks are always welcome!

Let’s go over some general guidelines for bringing drinks to a potluck!

How to bring drinks to a potluck?

I have gathered together the best advice for bringing drinks to a potluck that will not only make it easier on you but will make the rest of the guests happy as well!

The Type of Potluck Matters

If you are going to an outdoor barbeque, then bringing canned sodas and bottles of water will be much appreciated. This means you will need to work with the host about who provides the cooler and ice.

If it is an indoor work potluck, you will be better off bringing 2 liters of soda or even gallons of drink, that will allow the guests to pour their own beverage.

If it is a dinner potluck and you want to bring an alcoholic beverage, check with your party host to see what the best alcohol would be to bring. They may suggest a white or red wine, a bottle of liquor for mixed drinks, or a beer suggestion.

Number of Drinks Needed

If you are the only one bringing drinks, you may want to double check the expected number of guests coming to the potluck party. In general, you will want to bring enough drinks to serve every guest at least one to drinks. An average drink which is approximately 8 oz.

If you are bringing all the drinks, you may want to settle on one type of drink and bring a small variety. For instance, if you bring sodas make sure you have some regular cola, diet cola, and a lemon-lime (Sprite) option as well. This will make sure everyone finds something they like.

Price

If price is a consideration, you will want to get the most drink for your dollar. This will mean skipping the soda and going to for cheaper options like ice tea or lemonade.

Drinkware

Ask your party host, if you are supposed to bring drinkware like plastic cups as well. Nothing is worse than bringing beverages but having no way to serve it to the guests.

Serving

It is best to keeps drinks separate from the food display because guests serving themselves can sometimes back up the line. I typically like to keep drinks on the other side of the room to the food, so that way everyone doesn’t stand in front of and block the food and drinks.

The ideal set-up for drinks at a potluck would be to have a small table with drinkware, container of ice, and a variety of beverages to choose from.

What drinks can I bring to a party?

The most economical beverages to bring to a party will be drinks like iced tea or lemonade. These can be bought in gallon size at a grocery store or can be made at home.

If you buy iced tea in gallons at the grocery store, you may want to have a mix of sweet and unsweetened versions. If you are located in the south, sweet tea will be the most preferred, but some will want unsweetened.

If you are located in the north, then unsweetened will be the preferred but you may want to bring some sweetener if anyone would like some.

Making iced tea and lemonade at home will be much cheaper than buying it at the grocery store, but you will need to make sure you have appropriate containers to store, transport, and serve it.

A regular pitcher is not going to travel well, but an iced tea jar with a lid and spout on the side will work. Just keep in mind though that a gallon only serves 16 people, so if the party has a lot of guests, you will definitely need more than one gallon container.

When you consider the costs of buying containers, it may actually be cheaper to buy premade at the supermarket. If you already have containers, then it will definitely be cheaper to make it yourself.

Is it okay to bring drinks to a potluck?

Bringing drinks is to a potluck party is often overlooked, so offering to bring drinks is usually a huge relief. Bringing drinks may not be the fanciest or a good way to show off your culinary skills but nobody wants to eat without having a drink to go with it.

Another thing to consider when bringing drinks is that the beverage needs to appeal to the mass audience. You may love jalapeno raspberry lemonade, but this may not be enjoyed by all the guests.

Try to keep your beverage choices plain and simple unless a specific flavor is requested by the host. If your host requests your special blend of peach sweet tea then definitely bring it, but hopefully there will be other drink options as well.

When in doubt about what to bring for beverages to a potluck, then definitely get with the party host for suggestions and recommendations!

For other common potluck questions, check out “Can I Bring Cookies to a Potluck?” and “Can I bring Chips to a Potluck?“