Pour cost represents the cost of alcoholic beverage poured (or sold) during a period, expressed as a percentage of total beverage sales for that period.
Formula: Pour cost % = Beverage Cost ÷ Beverage Sales × 100
Industry benchmarks by category
Pour cost varies by beverage type, since wholesale economics differ. Industry data (per BackBar Academy, Toast's bar profit margin guide, and DoorDash liquor-cost benchmarks):
- Liquor (spirits and cocktails): ~15% industry average; healthy range 15–20%. The highest-margin category — a $0.75 cost cocktail at $12 menu price runs 6.25% liquor cost on the spirit alone, with mixers and labor covered in the rest.
- Draft beer: ~20% industry average; healthy range 18–22%.
- Bottled beer: ~25% industry average; healthy range 22–26%. Tighter margins than draft because case pricing and wholesale economics differ.
- Wine: 30–40% industry average — but well-run programs target 20–30%. Anything above 35% signals the bottle markup or the by-the-glass pour math needs work.
Blended bar pour cost
A typical full-service restaurant bar runs a blended pour cost of 18–24%, weighted by category mix. The "Golden Rule" of 18–22% blended that floats around the industry is closer to a marketing line than a benchmark — different concepts, product mixes, and price points produce different defensible targets. Set your own baseline, then watch the trend. Operators who run sustainably higher are usually carrying too much premium product that doesn't move, or under-pricing the by-the-glass wine program (the single most common cause of pour-cost drift in independents).
How to calculate pour cost
- Beverage inventory at week start: dollar value of all alcohol on hand.
- Beverage purchases during the week: all liquor, beer, and wine invoices.
- Beverage inventory at week end: dollar value of all alcohol on hand at close.
- Beverage cost = (1) + (2) − (3).
- Beverage sales: all revenue from alcohol categories (excluding non-alcohol beverages, which roll into food sales).
- Divide cost by sales, multiply by 100.
Common mistakes
- Lumping non-alcohol beverages into "beverage sales." Soft drinks, coffee, and tea typically run higher pour costs that distort the alcohol-only number. Track separately.
- Ignoring spillage and over-pour. A bartender pouring 1.5 oz instead of the 1.25 oz spec on every cocktail is a 20% over-pour — that's the difference between 20% and 24% pour cost on a busy bar.
- Free pours during family meal or comp drinks not posted. The bottle goes down, sales don't go up, and pour cost looks broken when it's actually a tracking gap.
Related concepts
- Food cost percentage — the food-side equivalent
- How to build a wine list — by-the-glass economics deep-dive
- How to read your P&L — where pour cost shows up alongside food cost in COGS