Beverage cost percentage

Beverage cost percentage, often called pour cost, is the core efficiency ratio behind the bar. The formula is simple: total cost of the beverages sold divided by total beverage sales over the same period. If you sold 10,000 in drinks that cost you 2,200 to make, your beverage cost is 22%.

Targets vary by format. High-volume cocktail bars often sit around 20 to 24% because fresh juice, garnish and labour-heavy builds raise the cost per drink, while wine-led or spirit-led programs can run lower. Compare the number two ways: theoretical cost (what your recipes say you should have spent) against actual cost (what inventory says you really spent). The gap between them is drift: waste, over-pouring or theft.

Track it monthly, and per category where you can (spirits, wine, beer), not just as one blended figure. A blended 21% can hide a healthy wine list masking a spirits program bleeding 30% to heavy hands behind the bar.