The sale price of a cocktail is known. The cost of every drop inside it is not known in most bars.
Quick answer: The cost of a cocktail is calculated by summing the cl and gram based unit cost of every ingredient in the recipe. Ice, garnish and service loss are added to that total. Pour cost is then found by dividing ingredient cost by sale price. On the bar side the healthy range is generally 18 to 24 percent, and 18 to 20 percent for spirit-based cocktails.
What a bar owner sees at the end of the night is usually this: the tables were full, revenue looked strong, but at month-end the gap between the beverage supplier invoice and the till is wider than expected.
The name of that gap is over-pour, unrecorded comps and open-bottle waste. None of the three is visible until it is measured.
What pour cost is, and how it differs from food cost
On the restaurant side, cost is measured with food cost. On the bar side the equivalent is pour cost.
The difference is not in the method, it is in the precision. A 10 gram drift on a plate of food is usually tolerated. One extra cl poured into a glass hits profit directly, because the unit cost is high. This is why bar cost is tracked to the centilitre, not the gram.
The second difference is in stock structure. An opened bottle is both a stock item and a service unit. When the number of glasses poured from it is not measured, bottle waste stays invisible.
How the cost of a cocktail is calculated
The calculation has four steps.
Step one: the unit cost of the ingredient. The bottle price is divided by the bottle volume. If a 70 cl bottle of gin costs 480 TL, the cost per centilitre is 6.86 TL. At a 5 cl pour, that bottle yields 14 servings.
Step two: measuring out the recipe. Every item in the recipe is entered in cl or grams. Estimates are not accepted. The base spirit is usually between 4.5 and 6 cl, liqueurs and modifiers are defined in cl, and fresh ingredients in grams or units.
Step three: adding ice, garnish and the waste share. Ice, fresh citrus, syrup and garnish are part of the cost. Service loss is added as well. This line is usually around 5 to 8 percent of total ingredient cost.
Step four: calculating the pour cost percentage. Total portion cost is divided by the sale price excluding VAT and multiplied by one hundred.
Using an example signature cocktail:
| Ingredient | Quantity | Unit cost | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base spirit (gin) | 5 cl | 70 cl bottle 480 TL, 6.86 TL/cl | 34.30 TL |
| Liqueur | 2 cl | 70 cl bottle 350 TL, 5.00 TL/cl | 10.00 TL |
| Fresh citrus and syrup | per serve | 7.00 TL | |
| Garnish | per serve | 2.00 TL | |
| Subtotal | 53.30 TL | ||
| Ice and waste share (6 percent) | 3.20 TL | ||
| Total portion cost | 56.50 TL |
If the sale price excluding VAT is 260 TL, the pour cost comes out at 21.7 percent. That value sits inside the healthy range.
What a healthy pour cost looks like
The ratio is read per category, not as a single menu average. Rough target ranges:
| Category | Healthy pour cost range |
|---|---|
| Spirit-based cocktails | 18 to 20 percent |
| Draught beer | 20 to 26 percent |
| Bottled beer | 24 to 28 percent |
| Wine | 28 to 35 percent |
| Bar-wide target | 18 to 24 percent |
The common mistake here is tracking the ratio as one number for the whole bar. The correct reading is per product. A signature cocktail running at 16 percent and a glass of wine running at 34 percent disappear inside the same average.
The second point is this: the best-selling drink and the most profitable drink are usually not the same. A menu engineering decision requires seeing those two lists separately.
The invisible loss: over-pour and open-bottle waste
The real loss in a bar does not sit in the recipe. It sits in the gap between the recipe and what is actually served.
Theoretical consumption: the number of glasses sold multiplied by the recipe measure. The system produces this figure itself.
Actual consumption: the real consumption found from opening stock, purchases and the closing count.
The gap between the two numbers is the bar's invisible loss. Its sources are:
- Over-pour, meaning free pouring without a jigger
- Unrecorded comps
- Product spilled or spoiled during service
- Counting error
- Cancellations that were never recorded
One extra centilitre in a single free-poured glass reaches a serious figure by the end of the day, because the unit cost is high. This is why measured service (jigger) and recipe-based stock deduction are the highest-return disciplines in a bar.
Where the system takes over
The calculation should be set up once and then update itself. The working setup is this:
- A purchase invoice is entered, and unit costs update automatically across all recipes
- The moment a cocktail is sold, the recipe is deducted from stock in cl
- Theoretical consumption is calculated continuously and compared with actual consumption on count day
- The number of glasses poured from each open bottle is tracked, making waste visible
- Comps are recorded as a separate line item rather than left unrecorded
In the Kabasakal (Mersin) rollout, bar recipes are linked to this structure. On the bar side, over-pour and open-bottle waste are the highest cost line items, and they only become measurable through cl-based recipe tracking.
A bar's profit is not in the price list, it is inside the glass
Setting a menu price looks like a concept decision. It is really a cost decision, and its basis is the real, product-level pour cost.
The question a bar owner should ask is not how many glasses were sold tonight. It is how much each glass sold actually earned.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between pour cost and food cost?
Both are the ratio of cost to sale price. Food cost is calculated in grams for kitchen products, pour cost in centilitres for drinks. Unit costs are higher on the bar side, so precision matters more.
What is a healthy pour cost percentage?
The bar-wide target range is 18 to 24 percent. Spirit-based cocktails run at 18 to 20 percent, bottled beer at 24 to 28 percent, and wine at 28 to 35 percent.
Are ice and garnish included in cocktail cost?
Yes. Ice, fresh citrus, syrup, garnish and service loss are a real part of the cost. A calculation made without them stays below the real cost.
How is over-pour cost controlled?
Measured service tools (jiggers) are used and the recipe is defined in the system in cl. When stock is deducted automatically at the point of sale, the gap between theoretical and actual consumption makes over-pour visible.
How is open-bottle spirit stock tracked?
The bottle is defined as both a stock item and a service unit. The system calculates the cl deducted from the bottle on every sale, so the number of glasses poured and the waste ratio become traceable.