A smart, scalable system for batching cocktails with precision — so every drink tastes the same, costs the same, and keeps your margins under control.
This tool is built for operators who need consistency across busy shifts, multiple bartenders, or large events:
If you batch cocktails — even occasionally — this saves you hours of prep and hundreds in lost product weekly.
Build your first batch today — and see exactly where your margins are going.
Get variance tracking, recipe library, batch history & advanced features
Download Free CalculatorMost bars lose money on their best-selling cocktails — and don’t know it.
A batch of 50 Margaritas that costs $3.82 per drink instead of $2.48 seems small, but it’s $67 lost in a single night. A 5% over-pour on a 200-drink shift quietly wipes out another $400–$800 every week.
It’s not the recipe that’s broken.
It’s the math — different bartenders batching by eye, inconsistent dilution, and ingredients that don’t scale cleanly.
The Barmetrix Cocktail Calculator fixes that. It gives bars a simple, reliable way to scale any cocktail, balance ABV, and nail the flavor every time, whether you’re making one drink or one hundred.
A cocktail calculator is a simple digital tool that removes the guesswork from batching. Instead of multiplying ingredients manually or guessing how much dilution you’ll get from shaking or stirring, the calculator does all the math for you — total volume, ABV (alcohol by volume), pour cost, and yield per serving.
Here’s the difference:
Without it: “We probably need six bottles of tequila.”
With it: “We need 4.2 liters — order five bottles, use four, save the fifth.”
You enter the recipe, set the number of servings, and pick the style (shaken, stirred, or built). The calculator automatically adjusts dilution, ABV, and batch yield. It works with everything: spirits, liqueurs, citrus, syrups, and house-made ingredients.
It’s the kind of precision bartenders rely on when consistency and profitability matter.
Behind every consistent drink is a consistent process — and consistency starts with data.
Here’s what a good cocktail calculator delivers for bar teams and managers alike:
“What’s measurable becomes manageable.”
Scaling a cocktail isn’t as simple as doubling ingredients. Citrus, syrups, and liqueurs don’t behave linearly, and dilution changes everything. That’s where batching cocktails with a calculator saves you both time and waste.
The calculator displays the total volume needed for each ingredient, so you know exactly how many bottles to pull before prep begins.
The calculator doesn’t just scale ingredients — it also tells you exactly how many bottles you need for any batch size.
Once you enter your recipe and set your target servings, the sheet:
Example:
If your 100-serve Margarita batch needs 4,436 ml of tequila, and you’re using 750 ml bottles, the calculator will clearly show:“6 bottles needed.”
No guessing. No eyeballing. This keeps prep consistent, prevents mid-shift surprises, and ensures your team always starts with the right amount of product.
Step-by-step:
Ranges vary based on ice type, shake duration, and glassware — small changes affect melt rate and final dilution.
Example:
A single-serve Margarita (2 oz tequila, 1 oz triple sec, 1 oz lime, 0.25 oz syrup) scaled to 100 servings yields about 3.6 liters at 23% ABV — roughly:
This lets bartenders build drinks consistently during peak hours without sacrificing quality.
Variance is the gap between what you should have used and what you actually used.
A 15% variance means you’re losing 15% of every batch — usually through:
One bar we coached cut variance from 12% to 3% simply by switching from volume to weight for syrups and standardizing shake times.
Reducing variance isn’t theory — it’s profit.
Your cocktail’s strength isn’t guesswork — it’s math.
A mixed drink’s alcohol content depends on each ingredient’s ABV, the amount of pure alcohol in each spirit, and the dilution added through shaking, stirring, or melting ice cubes.
The calculator multiplies each ingredient’s volume by its ABV to find total ethanol (ml of pure alcohol). Then it divides that by the final batch volume, including dilution, to get an accurate ABV percentage.
That’s crucial for:
Example:
A Negroni at 1.4 standard drinks helps bartenders pace service and meet responsible-beverage requirements — especially during high-volume shifts.
In the U.S., a standard drink contains 14 grams (0.6 fl oz) of pure alcohol, regardless of serving size:
Each equals one standard drink.
This isn’t a serving size — it’s a reference point. Many cocktails contain two or more standard drinks, which is why measuring ABV matters for responsible service and guest pacing.
The calculator gives you numbers. These habits give you precision:
Small improvements add up — tightening variance and building a team that respects both craft and cost.
The real power of this tool shows up when you fold it into your systems:
That’s why Barmetrix integrates this approach into our coaching — connecting what happens at the bar with what shows up on your P&L.
Build the batch around the spirits first. Then go a little lighter on the citrus and sweeteners — they scale more aggressively than people expect. A quick taste-test before service will tell you if everything’s in line.
Think about how the drink is normally made. Shaken drinks pick up more water — usually around 18–25%. Stirred cocktails sit closer to 10–15%. Built drinks barely dilute at all. The calculator will apply the right range automatically, but you can adjust based on your bar’s ice and technique.
Sugar won’t change the alcohol content, but it definitely changes how strong a drink feels. Sweeter blends can hide alcohol, which is why consistent syrup recipes matter so much in batch prep.
Absolutely. Add your bottle size and price, and the sheet does the rest — cost per ounce, cost per drink, and the full batch cost. No math, no guesswork.
Scaling tells you how much of each ingredient to use so your ratios and costs stay consistent — whether you’re batching for 10 drinks or 100.
ABV calculation tells you how strong the finished cocktail is once dilution is factored in.
Everyone from bar managers and beverage directors to caterers, festival bartenders, and high-volume margarita shops use this tool because it takes the guesswork out of batching. If you serve a lot of cocktails in a short amount of time, this makes your life easier and your numbers cleaner.
Every bar talks about consistency. Few can measure it.
The Barmetrix Cocktail Calculator gives you the math, structure, and repeatability to run a cocktail program that’s creative, compliant, and profitable. It’s not just another spreadsheet — it’s the system many bar teams have been trying to build manually for years.
Start with one cocktail. Scale it. Check the ABV. See the cost per drink.
You’ll spot your biggest opportunities immediately.
Download the Free Cocktail Calculator — Batch smarter. Reduce waste. Master your numbers.