“Simply put, when pour cost goes up, profit goes down,” says Jim Meehan, general manager of PDT in Manhattan. “It’s an important financial indicator, but it has serious limitations as an analytical device. What pour cost can’t do is pinpoint where the problems are, which is precisely the type of information operators need to run their businesses profitably.”
The inherent weakness with pour cost analysis is it doesn’t take into consideration that products sell at different mark-ups. Premium and super-premium products sell at a higher cost percentage than do well brands, yet generate significantly more revenue and gross profit. For example, were your staff to begin selling more drinks made with premium brands than well, the bar’s pour cost would increase.
While bartender-related issues are often at the root of the problem, a rising pour cost may also indicate that management is doing a better job of promoting higher profit premium spirits and drinks.
“Operators intuitively understand that gross profit is more important than pour cost, but they sometimes have difficulty
What other truths surround this often used, yet often misunderstood measure of profitability? Our experts have rendered their collective experiences into the following principles.
TRUTHS ABOUT POUR COST
PROFITABLE ALTERNATIVE
Portioning control is crucial to achieving profitability, yet it needn’t come at the expense of concept or speed of service. A low-cost, low-tech means of ensuring accurate portioning without investing significant capital or impeding your bartenders’ pouring mechanics is to outfit your bar with bottle-attached control spouts. These innovative devices utilize a patented ball bearing assembly to cut off the flow of fluid at the prescribed measure.
The industry leader is Precision 3 Ball Pours from Precision Pours. They all but eliminate under-pouring or over-pouring liquor and are quite effective in deterring illicit practices behind the bar. Since they function like conventional spouts, no specialized staff training is required to achieve optimum results. The spouts are available in seven portion sizes ranging from 5/8 ounce to 1 1/2 ounces.
Precision Pours are as fast as free-pouring without the attendant worries and expense. As is true with any system, the control function of the devices can be subverted. Fortunately, removing the spout from the bottle prior to pouring is a tad obvious. 
