Reducing Theft and Waste in Your Bar

shot in this bottle costs you about $1.56. Since you want your pour cost to be 20 percent, the math is $1.56/.2 = $7.80. That means you need to charge at least $7.80 for a cocktail that contains one shot of that tequila. If you wanted your pour cost to be 18 percent, the math would be $1.56/.18 = $8.67. Your pour cost should be as low as possible to reap a higher margin per each beverage sold. The higher the pour cost, the lower the percentage of profit you make on drink sales.

The math is easy to adjust for different priced spirits. If you’re using an anejo tequila that costs you $35 per fifth, at a 20 percent pour cost that works out to $35/16 shots = $2.19 per shot/.2 = $10.94 minimum cost for a cocktail made with that tequila.

There are myriad variables that go into pricing. You may want to consider the cost of ingredients other than alcohol, especially if they are expensive. You may want to allow room for waste or occasional comp drinks. And you should pay attention to your competition to ensure your prices are not too far from the norm.

But the bottom line is that you should be deliberate with setting prices, just like you should be deliberate with all parts of your cocktail program.

The right cocktail menu, combined with staff training and smart pricing, is a recipe for cocktail success.

Nick Yager, owner of Gusanoz in Lebanon, New Hampshire, knows the value of great cocktail program. Spirits account for about 80 percent of his alcohol sales, he reports. Not only do cocktails keep his cash register humming, they keep customers happy: “Cocktails are essential to our success. If we did not offer them, fewer guests would come in at all.”

See recipes for Lime in the Coconut, Freseada, Silver Coin Margarita and Cazuela Guadalajara along with recipes from our archives, on pages 14 and 15. And for even more cocktail recipes, click here to find those el Restaurante has featured in our Recipe of the Week email and past issues of the magazine over the years.

Rimming Tips

• Find out how a rimmer affects the cocktail’s taste. Sip it first without tasting the rimmer, then sip it with the rimmer.

• Experiment with the rimmer’s thickness, depth and placement. Some drinks need a thick stripe so customers taste a lot of it with each sip; others need just a thin rim across the top or a sprinkling down the side of the glass.