A drink made with a specific brand of spirit requested by the guest, rather than the house well brand. Call drinks carry a higher menu price and different pour cost than well equivalents.
When a guest orders a 'Tito's and soda' instead of a 'vodka and soda,' that's a call drink. They've specified the brand. The bar pours from the named bottle, charges the call price (typically $2-4 more than the well), and records it as a call pour for cost tracking.
Call drinks require specific pricing discipline. The pour cost on a call drink should be calculated separately from the well equivalent — the spirit costs more, and the menu price needs to reflect that without eroding margin. A common mistake is pricing call drinks at a flat premium over the well price regardless of the spirit's actual cost, which underprices some call options and overprices others.
From a training standpoint, staff need to know the call tier structure: which brands are well, which are call, which are premium pour, and how to communicate upsell opportunities when a guest orders generically.
methodus specs can specify brand by tier — well, call, and premium — so your team is trained on the exact spirit hierarchy your venue uses, with costing that reflects each tier accurately.
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