Bar program
Pour cost: how to calculate it for liquor, wine and draft beer
By RestoGrowth Advisor Editorial Team · Published
Pour cost = what a drink costs you ÷ its menu price × 100. For a cocktail, the cost is the bottle price divided by the number of pours in the bottle, plus mixers and garnish. For draft beer, it is the keg price divided by the pints you actually sell. For wine by the glass, it is the bottle price divided by the glasses you pour from it. Track liquor, beer and wine separately, because their costs are very different.
Liquor and cocktails
First work out how many pours a bottle gives. A 750 ml bottle holds about 25.4 US fluid ounces. A 1.5 oz pour is the size of one US standard drink of spirits.
Cost per drink = (bottle cost ÷ pours) + mixer and garnish
Pour cost % = cost per drink ÷ drink price × 100
| 750 ml bottle at $24: 25.4 oz ÷ 1.5 oz | 16 pours |
|---|---|
| Spirit per drink: $24 ÷ 16 | $1.50 |
| + Mixer and garnish | $0.75 |
| Cost per drink | $2.25 |
| $2.25 ÷ $12 × 100 | 18.75% |
Draft beer
A full-size keg (a half barrel) holds 15.5 gallons, or 1,984 ounces. That is 124 sixteen-ounce pints. But you never sell all of them: some beer goes down the drain as foam, spills and line cleaning.
Cost per pint = keg cost ÷ pints sold
Pour cost % = cost per pint ÷ pint price × 100
| Pints lost: 124 × 10% | 12 pints |
|---|---|
| Pints sold | 112 |
| Cost per pint sold: $180 ÷ 112 | $1.61 |
| $1.61 ÷ $7 × 100 | 23.0% |
Cut the loss to 5% and the same pint costs $1.53, a pour cost of 21.8%. At two kegs a week, that is about $936 a year saved at cost, and more in pints you can sell.
Wine by the glass
A standard 750 ml wine bottle holds about 25.4 oz. The pour size decides how many glasses you get.
Pour cost % = (bottle cost ÷ glasses) ÷ glass price × 100
| Glasses per bottle: 25.4 ÷ 6 | about 4.2 |
|---|---|
| Cost per glass: $14 ÷ 4.2 | $3.31 |
| $3.31 ÷ $12 × 100 | 27.6% |
One rule of thumb some owners use: price a glass so the first glass sold covers most or all of the bottle cost. Here the $12 glass covers $12 of a $14 bottle. Open bottles that go off before they are finished raise the real pour cost, so track what you pour away.
Work out pour cost for your drinksFree Bar Pour Cost Calculator. No sign-up needed.What over-pouring costs
Pour a quarter-ounce too much and the same bottle gives fewer drinks. At 1.75 oz instead of 1.5 oz, our example bottle gives 14 pours instead of 16:
| Spirit per drink: $24 ÷ 14 | $1.71 |
|---|---|
| Cost per drink with mixer and garnish | $2.46 |
| Pour cost | 20.5% (was 18.75%) |
| Drinks you paid for but didn’t sell, per bottle | 2 (that’s $24 of sales) |
That is why jiggers or measured pourers matter. The bar program checklist covers pouring, inventory and draft line routines.
Your whole bar’s pour cost
Drink-by-drink pour cost tells you about recipes and prices. To see what really happened, use inventory:
Bar pour cost % = bar cost ÷ bar sales × 100
If the bar’s actual pour cost is higher than your drink-by-drink figures add up to, the difference is over-pouring, spills, unrecorded comps, foam or theft. That is the same idea as actual vs theoretical food cost.
How to lower pour cost
- Use jiggers or measured pourers for every spirit, and train everyone on the same pour sizes.
- Write a recipe card for every cocktail, with exact measures, and cost it.
- Count liquor weekly and compare what you used with what you sold.
- Ring every comp, spill and returned drink into the POS.
- Clean draft lines on schedule. The Brewers Association recommends every 7–14 days; check your local rules.
- Keep kegs at serving temperature (the Brewers Association uses 38°F) so beer pours without excess foam.
- Pour beer with about a one-inch head. Filling to the rim is over-pouring.
- Re-price drinks when supplier prices change.
Common mistakes
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate pour cost?
Divide what the drink costs you by its menu price and multiply by 100. For a cocktail, the cost is the bottle price divided by the number of pours, plus mixers and garnish.
How many 1.5 oz pours are in a 750 ml bottle?
A 750 ml bottle holds about 25.4 ounces, so it gives 16 full 1.5 oz pours, with a little left over. Free pouring usually gives fewer.
How many pints are in a keg?
A full-size half-barrel keg holds 15.5 gallons, or 1,984 ounces, which is 124 sixteen-ounce pints. You will sell fewer, because some beer is lost to foam and line cleaning.
How do I calculate wine pour cost by the glass?
Divide the bottle’s 25.4 ounces by your pour size to get glasses per bottle. Divide the bottle cost by that number, then divide by the glass price and multiply by 100.
What is a good pour cost?
It depends on the drink, your prices and your concept, so set separate targets for liquor, beer and wine and track them over time. A pour cost that rises while prices stay the same usually means over-pouring, waste or a supplier price increase.
Sources
- NIAAA: What is a standard drink?Used for: US standard drink sizes (1.5 oz of spirits)
- Brewers Association: Draught Beer Quality Manual (2019 edition)Used for: Half-barrel keg size (15.5 gallons, 1,984 oz), line cleaning every 7–14 days, 38°F serving temperature, one-inch head
Examples use an invented example restaurant with round numbers. See how we calculate for the formulas behind our tools, and our editorial policy for how guides are checked. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.