Are Your Cocktails Worth the Price? How to Avoid Charging More Than They're Worth
One question that guests often ask when they sip on a cocktail is the following: Was that worth what I paid? It seems very few bars and the bartenders in them ask the same question of themselves. Let's flip the question around, especially since at a time in which a cocktail's price is coming close to the price of an hour's wage, guests are scrutinizing every aspect of their experience.
So how can you assure your cocktails are worth the price, not just in your eyes, but in your guests’? Let’s consider a few angles.
The Harsh Truth: Guests Don’t Care About Your Costs
You've worked hard to calculate costs - spirit measures, garnish, ice (in some situations), labour, and overheads. Your costing spreadsheet indicates a price of ₹1,200 per drink is justified. However, the guests are not focused on your Excel spreadsheet. They are tasting the drink, experiencing the atmosphere, and subconsciously comparing your menu with the amount they spend in a week on groceries.
That is the disconnect - what the drink costs you and what the person drinking the drink perceives as its worth.
Lesson one: Perceived value is everything.
What Does “Cocktails Worth the Price” Really Mean?
It’s not just about ingredients or alcohol volume. A cocktail's perceived value is built from multiple touchpoints:
- The taste and balance
- The presentation
- The story behind the drink
- The atmosphere of your bar
- The interaction with staff
- The novelty of the spirit or technique used
Even a basic Gin & Tonic can feel premium when served in a beautiful glass, with artisanal tonic, hand-cut ice, and a thoughtful garnish — versus a poorly poured mix in a warm tumbler.
Cocktails worth the price don’t have to be expensive — they have to feel intentional.
Why Are We Pricing Ourselves Out of the Market?
One word: costs. Everything is getting costlier, from predatory spirits to increased rents. So it is predictable for bar owners to mark up the cost of drinks to ensure their margins. It’s often defendable to charge ₹1,200 for a drink when you are pouring from a ₹7,000 bottle. But here is the rub – your guests have no clue about your purchase agreements, distributor commissions or excise taxes.
If your guests do not feel a cocktail warrants the cost, they simply will not order another, or doubly worse, they may not return at all.
Recalibrate Your Value Proposition
Instead of just increasing prices to maintain your margin, ask: How do I add value without increasing cost?
Here are a few ways:
1. Source Smarter
Consider options outside of international mega-brands. Oftentimes the best value comes from local or regional spirits, providing character and great value. Typically small-batch producers don't charge a premium for their spirits and will also have more interesting character.
This can reduce your costs by 10–30% - so you can improve your margin or reduce the price on your menu, making your drinks more enticing.
2. Rethink Portion & Glassware
A 45ml cocktail in a beautifully weighted coupe feels far more premium than the same drink poured over melting ice in a generic rocks glass. Guests equate visuals with value. Use glassware and ice strategically.
3. Simplify — But Don’t Compromise
A three-ingredient drink made with flair and precision often impresses more than a ten-ingredient muddle. Keep it clean, intentional, and well-executed.
Breakdown the Cocktail Cost to Add Transparency
Here’s a real-world example to illustrate how quickly your drink price can climb:
- Spirit (50ml from a ₹4,000 bottle): ₹285
- Liqueur or modifier (15ml): ₹80
- Citrus/fresh ingredient: ₹40
- Garnish: ₹10
- Ice: ₹5
- Glassware washing, labour, venue cost (estimated per drink): ₹120
Total cost: ₹540
To maintain a 70% gross profit, your menu price must be at least ₹1,800.
Now ask yourself: Does the guest feel that it’s worth ₹1,800?
Offer Tiers in Your Menu
Not all drinks are required to be premium. You could create a menu with several price tiers: ₹500, ₹800, ₹1,200. Every drink is good, but the expensive drinks have something more: aged spirits, rare ingredients, or more elaborate technique.
This way a guest can have the experience they want based on what it is worth that night.
Build Relationships, Not Just Recipes
You can charge more when you offer a story. That ₹650 Negroni made with a local gin? It becomes more than just a drink when your team tells the guest about the distiller 10km away who forages botanicals from the forest nearby.
A cocktail becomes worth the price when it comes with connection — to the land, to the maker, or to the bartender who served it with care.
Listen to Feedback (Even the Silent Kind)
Guests won’t always tell you when they think your drink was overpriced — but their behavior will. If people aren’t ordering a second round, or if certain drinks are rarely re-ordered, something’s off.
Use your POS data and staff feedback to analyze drink popularity versus price. What sells well at ₹700 may tank at ₹850.
Don’t Rely Only on Big Brand Incentives
Large brands offer listing fees, marketing support, and event sponsorships — all helpful. But when you tie yourself exclusively to expensive international labels, you limit your pricing flexibility and back bar creativity.
Try blending your brand lineup. Keep a few known names, but build depth with high-quality, lesser-known products. This keeps your margins healthy and your menu exciting.
Final Thoughts: Quality, Not Just Cost, Drives Value
Ultimately, Cocktails Worth the Price isn’t about selling drinks cheaply — it’s about creating an experience that feels fair, considered, and enjoyable for what’s paid.
Your job as a bar owner, manager, or bartender isn’t just to cover costs. It’s to create value that your guests can taste, see, and feel. When you do that well, price becomes less of a barrier, and more of a reflection of the care and craft that went into each drink.
Because the goal isn’t to serve cheap drinks. It’s to serve memorable ones.
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