How to Price Cocktails: The Pour Cost Formula + Worked Examples (2026)

Here’s how to price cocktails in one line: add up what every ingredient in the glass costs you, then divide that number by your target pour cost. Most bars aim for a pour cost somewhere around 18% to 24% on cocktails, so a drink that costs you $3 to make usually lands in the $12 to $16 range. That’s the math. The rest of this guide shows you how to cost each ingredient, how to pick your target percentage, and how to check your prices against your market so the number on the menu actually sells.

If you just want the answer for one drink, plug it into our free Pour Cost Calculator. It does the per-ounce math and rounds the price for you.

How to price cocktails: the formula

Pour cost is just the cost of a drink’s ingredients divided by its sale price. BevSpot defines it exactly that way. Flip it around and you get your price:

Menu price = total ingredient cost ÷ target pour cost (as a decimal)

So if a drink costs you $2.00 and you want a 20% pour cost, you divide $2.00 by 0.20 and get $10.00. Toast walks through that exact example, and also shows the shortcut version: divide 100 by your target pour cost to get a multiplier (100 ÷ 20 = 5), then multiply your ingredient cost by it ($2 × 5 = $10). Same answer, easier to do in your head.

Watch the direction here. A lower pour cost target means a higher menu price. Provi shows this clearly: at $1.25 of liquor, a 16% target gives you $7.81, while a 24% target gives you $5.20.

What pour cost should you target?

There’s no official standard, and every source says some version of that. But the published ranges cluster in the same place:

Toast cites 20% as the ideal pour cost for an alcoholic drink, which leaves about 80% of the price as gross profit. That’s a solid default if you’re starting from zero. Then adjust:

• Go lower (16% to 18%) on well drinks and simple highballs. Cheap spirit, fast to make, people expect a fair price.
• Stay near 20% on your standard cocktail list.
• Go a little higher (22% to 24%) on signature drinks with pricey ingredients, so the menu price doesn’t scare people off. Provi suggests this exact move for specialty cocktails.

Backbar puts it well: these numbers are guidelines. A wine bar pouring unusual bottles will run higher than a sports bar selling draft by the keg, and that’s fine as long as you know your number and it’s on purpose.

Step 1: Find your cost per ounce for every bottle

Everything starts here. The formula is simple: bottle price ÷ ounces in the bottle = cost per ounce (that’s how Provi lays it out).

Bottle sizes you’ll use most:

• 750 ml ≈ 25.4 oz
• 1 liter ≈ 33.8 oz
• 1.75 liter ≈ 59.2 oz

Use what you actually pay your distributor, including any delivery or deposit charges you get billed per bottle. Don’t use the shelf price at a liquor store. Do this once for every bottle on your back bar and keep it in a spreadsheet, because prices move and you’ll be updating it.

Example (made-up numbers, swap in yours): a 750 ml bottle of well vodka that costs you $20 works out to $20 ÷ 25.4 = about $0.79 per ounce.

Step 2: Cost the whole recipe, not just the booze

This is where most new owners leave money on the table. The spirit is the big line, but limes, syrups, bitters, garnish and even the salt rim all cost something. Sculpture Hospitality calls out garnishes specifically: limes, herbs and olives add up, and anything exotic or labor-heavy should be built into the price.

Write a spec card for every drink with exact measures. If the recipe says “a splash,” you can’t cost it, and your bartenders will all pour it differently. Standard recipes are how you keep the cost you calculated equal to the cost you actually pay.

For juices and syrups you make in house, cost them per ounce too. Squeeze a case of limes, measure the yield, and divide the case price by the ounces you got. Same with simple syrup: sugar plus a little labor, divided by the batch size.

Step 3: Worked examples

These use example bottle prices so you can follow the math. Your distributor pricing will be different, so run your own numbers through the same steps.

A simple well drink

• Vodka: 1.5 oz × $0.79 = $1.18
• Soda and a lime wedge: call it $0.10 (cost yours)
• Total cost: $1.28
• At an 18% target: $1.28 ÷ 0.18 = $7.11, so you’d round to $7.50

Why 1.5 oz? That’s the U.S. standard drink size for distilled spirits per the NIAAA, and a common single pour. Set your own pour size and stick to it.

A margarita

Now run it at three targets:

• 20%: $3.34 ÷ 0.20 = $16.70, round to $17.00
• 22%: $3.34 ÷ 0.22 = $15.18, round to $15.50
• 24%: $3.34 ÷ 0.24 = $13.92, round to $14.00

That’s a $3 spread on one drink just from the target you pick. That lines up with Sculpture Hospitality’s rule of thumb that a $3 cocktail usually prices around $12 to $16. Which one is right depends on Step 4.

A glass of wine

The standard wine pour is 5 oz (also the NIAAA standard drink), so a 750 ml bottle gives you about five glasses. A bottle that costs you $12 is about $2.40 a glass. At a 30% target that’s $8.00; at 35% it’s $6.86, so you’d round to $7.00. Wine runs a higher pour cost than spirits in every benchmark above, so don’t force it down to 20%.

Step 4: Check your price against your market

Pour cost gives you the floor. Your street gives you the ceiling. Before you print a menu:

• Read 5 to 10 local menus from bars with a similar vibe and crowd. Write down what they charge for a margarita, an old fashioned, a well drink and a draft pint.
• If your formula price is way under the local norm, you can price up to the market. That extra margin covers labor, rent and the nights that are slow.
• If your formula price is way over, don’t just eat the cost. Swap to a different spirit, trim the pour, simplify the garnish, or move the drink into a premium tier where a higher price makes sense.

Sculpture Hospitality notes the standard markup lands around four to six times what the drink costs you to make, depending on location, clientele and concept. Your market decides where in that range you sit.

Step 5: Build your menu in tiers

You don’t need one pour cost for everything. Toast lays out a natural price ladder from well liquor and draft beer at the low end up to top-shelf cocktails and high-end wine at the top. A few ways to use that:

• Three versions of a best seller. Toast’s example is a margarita at $10, a spicy passion fruit version at $12 and a top-shelf version at $16. People often trade up to the middle one.
• Size options. Offer a “make it a double” on mixed drinks, or a half pint and a pint. Half the pour for more than half the price helps your margin.
• Menu placement. Sculpture Hospitality suggests putting your highest-margin drinks in prime spots on the menu.
• Group formats. Pitchers and flights can lift what a table spends.

Step 6: Round smart and keep prices clean

Your formula will spit out numbers like $15.18. Round up to the nearest $0.50 or dollar. Rounding up protects your target, and clean numbers are easier to read. Sculpture Hospitality also points out that listing a drink as “12” instead of “$12.00” can make it feel more approachable. Pick one style and use it across the whole menu.

Step 7: Protect the price you set

A perfect price means nothing if the pour drifts. If your bartender free pours 2 oz on a drink you costed at 1.5 oz, your 20% pour cost quietly becomes something closer to 27%. Ways to keep it tight:

• Jiggers or measured pour spouts on every station. Sculpture Hospitality lists jiggers, measured spouts and electronic dispensers as the main portion control tools.
• Spec cards posted where your team can see them.
• A waste log for spills, comps and remakes, so you can see where product goes.
• Re-cost every time a distributor price changes. If tequila goes up, your margarita math changes.

Step 8: Check your real pour cost every month

Your menu prices tell you what your pour cost should be. Inventory tells you what it is. Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s pour cost guide lays out the classic method:

Actual pour cost = (beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory) ÷ sales

Count every bottle at the start of the period, estimating partial bottles in tenths, add what you bought, count again at the end, and divide what you used by what you sold. Close the bar while you count so nothing moves. If your actual number is well above your menu math, something’s leaking: over-pouring, comps, waste or prices that haven’t caught up to your costs.

Happy hour and drink specials: check your state first

Discounts are a pricing tool, but drink specials are regulated differently from state to state, and some cities add their own rules. As one example, Illinois loosened its rules in 2015 but still caps reduced-price periods at 4 hours a day and 15 hours a week, bans discounts between 10 p.m. and close, and prohibits two-for-one deals, according to the Alcohol Policy Resource Center. Your state’s rules may be very different. Look up your state liquor authority’s rules on drink specials before you put a happy hour price on the menu.

Cocktail pricing checklist

• ☐ Cost per ounce for every bottle, from your real distributor invoices
• ☐ Cost per ounce for house juices and syrups
• ☐ A spec card with exact measures for every drink
• ☐ A target pour cost for each tier (well, standard, signature, wine, beer)
• ☐ Formula price for every drink, rounded up
• ☐ A market check against 5 to 10 local menus
• ☐ Jiggers or measured spouts at every station
• ☐ Your state’s drink special rules, checked
• ☐ A monthly inventory count to find your actual pour cost

Pricing is one piece of the opening puzzle. If you’re still mapping the rest, see how much it costs to open a bar and our step-by-step guide to opening a small bar.

FAQ

What is a good pour cost for cocktails?

Most published benchmarks land between about 18% and 24%. Backbar lists 18% to 22% for liquor and cocktails, and Toast cites 20% as ideal. Simple well drinks can run lower and signature drinks with pricey ingredients a bit higher.

How do I calculate the price of a cocktail?

Add up the cost of every ingredient in the drink, including garnish, then divide by your target pour cost as a decimal. A drink that costs $2.00 at a 20% target sells for $10.00.

How much should I charge for a $3 cocktail?

At an 18% to 24% pour cost, a drink that costs you $3 to make usually prices around $12 to $16. Check local menus to see where in that range your bar fits.

Should I include garnish and ice in cocktail cost?

Include garnish, juices, syrups and anything else that goes in or on the glass. Those small costs add up across hundreds of drinks a week and can push your real pour cost above your target.

How often should I re-price my cocktail menu?

Re-cost a drink any time an ingredient price changes, and check your actual pour cost with an inventory count every month. If the real number drifts above your target, fix the pour, the recipe or the price.