Work out pour cost instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Pour cost is the cost of the measure divided by its selling price, and it is the tightest control metric in a bar. Because pours per bottle is a whole number in practice, over-pouring by a few millilitres each time removes a pour from every bottle and moves pour cost by several points.
Cost per pour
Cost per pour = Bottle cost / (Bottle volume / Pour size)
Pour cost
Pour cost % = Cost per pour / Selling price x 100
15-20% for spirits, 22-28% for wine by the glass and 20-25% for draught beer, depending on market and format.
Pouring 50 ml instead of 45 ml loses roughly two pours from a 750 ml bottle — about 11% of the revenue that bottle should generate.