How pour cost works
Pour cost is what one drink costs you, divided by what you charge for it. A half keg at $112 holds about 124 pints of 16 oz. That's about $0.90 a pint. Sell that pint for $5 and your pour cost is 18%: you keep about $4.10 from each one, before taxes.
The same math works for liquor. A 750 ml bottle at $24 holds about 16.9 shots of 1.5 oz, so each shot costs about $1.42. At $7 a shot, your pour cost is 20%.
How much is in each keg and bottle
| Size | Ounces | 16 oz pints |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 barrel, a full keg | 1,984 | 124 |
| 1/4 barrel, a pony keg | 992 | 62 |
| 1/6 barrel, a sixtel | 661 | 41 |
| Bottle | Ounces | 1.5 oz shots |
|---|---|---|
| 750 ml | 25.4 | 16 |
| 1 liter | 33.8 | 22 |
| 1.75 liter | 59.2 | 39 |
What a pour costs at common prices
Every drop poured, nothing lost to foam or spills. Your real cost runs a little higher.
| Size | You paid | Pour | Cost per pour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 barrel | $100 | 16 oz | $0.81 |
| 1/2 barrel | $150 | 16 oz | $1.21 |
| 1/2 barrel | $180 | 16 oz | $1.45 |
| 1/6 barrel | $80 | 16 oz | $1.94 |
| 1/6 barrel | $100 | 16 oz | $2.42 |
| 750 ml | $20 | 1.5 oz | $1.18 |
| 750 ml | $30 | 1.5 oz | $1.77 |
| 1 liter | $30 | 1.5 oz | $1.33 |
| 1.75 liter | $45 | 1.5 oz | $1.14 |
| 1.75 liter | $60 | 1.5 oz | $1.52 |
Why your real number is higher
- Foam, line cleaning and the first pours off a new keg never get rung. Put a few percent in "Lost to foam and spills" to see what that costs.
- Heavy pours add up. A 2 oz pour where you priced 1.5 oz costs a third more.
- Prices move. If your supplier raised the keg $8 last month and your menu didn't change, your pour cost went up.
The only way to know for sure is to count what's on the shelf and compare it to what you sold. That's the part Rotely fills in for you.
More free tools
Par level calculator: how many of each bottle to keep on the shelf, and how many to order today. Bar inventory count sheet: your bottles in shelf order, ready to print. See all free bar tools.