Pour cost
By Marji · Updated · Sources and editorial policy
Also called: beverage cost · liquor cost
Pour cost is beverage cost divided by beverage sales, the bar's equivalent of food cost percentage. Spirits, draft beer and wine are poured, priced and wasted differently, which is why a blended number tells you little without the category split behind it.
Formula
Pour cost % = Beverage COGS ÷ Beverage sales × 100
| Category | What moves its pour cost |
|---|---|
| Spirits | Small pours from a bottle priced per ounce; overpouring and unrung drinks |
| Draft beer | Keg yield: foam, line cleaning and the end of the keg |
| Bottled beer | Little yield loss; breakage and comps |
| Wine by the glass | How much of each opened bottle is sold before it is poured out |
| Wine by the bottle | Often priced on dollars per bottle rather than a percentage |
Worked example · Costing an Old Fashioned
- Bourbon, 2 oz from a $28 750ml bottle
- $2.21
- Demerara syrup, 0.25 oz
- $0.06
- Bitters, 2 dashes
- $0.04
- Orange peel + ice
- $0.14
- Total drink cost
- $2.45
- Menu price
- $15.00
- Pour cost
- 16.3%
A 750ml bottle holds 25.4 oz, so a 2 oz pour is 12.7 pours per bottle — before spill and free-pour drift.
The free-pour gap
If a bartender free-pouring a nominal 2 oz averages 2.3 oz, that is a 15% overpour, and it lands directly on pour cost: the drink above goes from 16.3% to 18.5% without a single price or purchasing change. Measure your own pours before assuming a figure; jiggers, measured pourers or batching close the gap — see free pour vs. jigger.
Run the numbers
Pour cost calculator
The guide that works it through
How to Calculate Pour Cost for Liquor, Beer and Wine: Bottle, Keg and Glass Math
Cost a spirit pour, a cocktail, a draft pint and a glass of wine from bottle and keg sizes, then measure actual pour cost from inventory and find where the gap comes from.
Related terms
COGS (cost of goods sold)
The cost of the food and beverage actually consumed in a period, computed from inventory rather than from purchases.
Food cost percentage
The share of a dish's menu price consumed by the ingredients on the plate.
Free pour vs. jigger
Pouring by eye versus by measure — a difference that shows up directly in pour cost.