Cocktail Cost Calculator
A cocktail's real cost hides in the modifiers, syrups, and garnish: not just the base spirit. List every ingredient with its amount and bottle cost, add your per-drink extras, and get the true cost per drink plus the menu price that hits your target pour cost. Everything updates live.
| Ingredient | Amount (oz) | Bottle cost ($) | Bottle size (oz) |
|---|
Garnish, napkins, straws: typically $0.25–$1.00.
Most bars target 18–24% on cocktails.
Enter it to see your actual pour cost at today's price.
The ingredients everyone forgets to cost
Ask a bartender what a margarita costs and they'll quote the tequila. But the drink also has triple sec, fresh lime juice, agave syrup, salt, a lime wheel, and a napkin: and those "small" items routinely make up a third or more of the true cost. Costing only the base spirit is the most common reason a cocktail menu looks profitable on paper and bleeds in reality. The fix is unglamorous: cost every component once, per ounce, and reuse those figures across the whole menu.
Worked example: a margarita with 2 oz tequila ($28 per 25.4 oz bottle = $1.10/oz → $2.20), 0.75 oz triple sec ($14 per 25.4 oz = $0.55/oz → $0.41), 0.75 oz fresh lime juice ($6 per 32 oz = $0.19/oz → $0.14), and 0.25 oz agave syrup ($8 per 24 oz = $0.33/oz → $0.08). Ingredients total $2.84; add $0.75 for garnish and supplies for a true cost of $3.59 per drink. At a 20% target pour cost, the menu price is $3.59 ÷ 0.20 = $17.96: call it $18. If you're currently selling it for $14, your actual pour cost is 25.7% and you're leaving $3.96 of profit on the bar top every time one sells.
Ingredient cost = Amount (oz) × Cost per oz
Total drink cost = Σ ingredient costs + Other costs
Suggested price = Total drink cost ÷ Target pour cost %
Practical tips for the cocktail menu
Batch-cost your house syrups, juices, and infusions once and treat the per-ounce figure as a fixed input: fresh citrus prices swing seasonally, so recheck quarterly. Design to a cost ceiling: decide the maximum drink cost your target price allows, then build recipes inside it. And watch the garnish arms race; a $1.50 smoked garnish on a $14 cocktail is a marketing expense, so make sure it's actually selling drinks.
Frequently asked questions
What should cocktail pour cost be?
Most bars target 18–24% pour cost on cocktails, with 20% a common bullseye. That target should cover the full drink, base spirit, modifiers, juices, syrups, and garnish, not just the main spirit. A cocktail that looks like 15% on the base spirit alone can easily be 25% once you cost the rest honestly.
How do you cost homemade syrups and infusions?
Cost the batch, then divide by its yield in ounces. A simple syrup made from a $2 bag of sugar and water yielding 64 oz costs about $0.03 per ounce: but a syrup with fresh fruit, herbs, or premium tea can run $0.25–$0.50 per ounce. Write the batch recipe down once, cost it once, and reuse the per-ounce figure in every cocktail that uses it.
Should garnish costs be included in cocktail costing?
Yes. Dehydrated citrus, branded cherries, fresh herbs, and smoked elements routinely add $0.25–$1.00 per drink, and elaborate garnishes can exceed the cost of the modifier spirits. Fold garnish into a per-drink "other costs" figure so it isn't invisible in your margins.
How much should I charge for a cocktail?
Divide the full drink cost, every ingredient plus garnish, by your target pour cost percentage. A $2.80 cocktail at a 20% target prices at $14.00. Then sanity-check against your market: if the math says $18 but comparable bars charge $14, rework the recipe's cost rather than accepting a 30% pour cost.