Whiskey Sour Cost Calculator
This whiskey sour includes pasteurized egg white, so its ingredient cost differs from a sour made with whiskey, lemon and sugar alone, even before garnish choices are considered.
Buying a carton makes the half-ounce portion easy to measure without allocating a whole shell egg to every drink; the lemon price covers a quart of usable prepared juice.
Editable example: quantities are a typical standard spec and prices are plausible US wholesale estimates, not supplier quotes or current market data. Replace them with your own.
Example ingredient spec
Volumes are US fl oz; 750 ml = 25.36 oz and one liter = 33.8 oz. Garnish allowance: $0.15.
| Ingredient | Pack size (oz) | Pack price ($) | Used (oz) | Line cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| House bourbon | 25.36 | 18.00 | 2 | 1.42 |
| Lemon juice (prepared quart) | 32 | 7.00 | 0.75 | 0.16 |
| Simple syrup (prepared quart) | 32 | 2.00 | 0.75 | 0.05 |
| Pasteurized egg white (16 oz carton) | 16 | 3.00 | 0.5 | 0.09 |
Example menu price
Example cost per drink: $1.87. At 20% pour cost, the unrounded price is $9.37. Suggested price rounded up to the next $0.50: $9.50, giving 19.73% actual ingredient cost.
These example prices exclude labor, overhead and tax. The ingredient table and suggestion describe the starting spec; edit the calculator to cost your own version.
Formula
Line cost = bottle or pack price ÷ size × amount per drink; drink cost = sum of line costs + garnish. Pour cost % = drink cost ÷ menu price × 100; gross profit = menu price − drink cost; price at target = drink cost ÷ (target/100).
More to cost
Calculated free at thehospitalityinsider.com/cocktail-cost/whiskey-sour