Something occurred to me recently: why are we still banishing low- and non-alcoholic drinks to their own stupid section of the menu, as if they were sitting at the kids’ table at dinner? Think about it for a second, doesn’t it seem a little barbaric in this day and age – when we’re all consuming more low and non-alcoholic drinks than ever before – that instead of thinking about drinks ‘a more holistic approach focused on alcohol ABV by volume), we always relegate them to the last page of the drinks list?
Shouldn’t a bar be a place where anybody can you come in, have a delicious drink and have a good time? And are we really encouraging that by requiring patrons who want to be intentional about the volume of alcohol they consume to navigate the bar in a different way?
I’m sure this has been done by others before, but this year I’m making a big push for a new type of cocktail menu: one where the alcohol by volume is listed next to the ingredient list and price. As thoughtful drinkers, wouldn’t it be great if we could make informed choices throughout our time at the bar? And as a bartender, it would be great to Really know how much alcohol our customers have consumed and make thoughtful choices about the impact of our drinks on them and everyone around them?
I don’t drink alcohol all day. I don’t even drink alcohol the whole time I’m sitting at a bar. I like to be really mindful of what I drink and how much alcohol is in it. But I always want a delicious drink, you know?
So I created another spreadsheet for all you bar managers (or nerdy drinkers), where you can easily enter your ingredients, recipe, and the ABV of each component. The spreadsheet will then ask you for an estimated dilution based on the serving method (I’ve included a few suggested dilutions that I use) and spit out an accurate ABV.
Just like spreadsheets for set the price of a cocktail menu, take inventory and pay costsand the bottle price spreadsheet, this calculator is completely free and you can use it in your bar. The link to download it as a compatible file is below. I hope this is helpful, and as always, feel free to leave your questions in the comments and I’ll try to respond as quickly as possible!
Here is a link to the spreadsheet on Google Sheetsif that would be helpful.
