Cocktails by the Pitcher

Have you considered offering pitchers of popular cocktails?  If you have a busy bar, this can reduce the labor load on your bartenders and servers and keep patrons happy (and drinking).  However, by selling entire pitchers, it can be more difficult to control overconsumption.  Be sure to have a plan for monitoring (such as having your servers or security staff circulating through the crowd).

You might also consider limiting pitchers to low alcohol cocktails as a way to avoid overconsumption.  Another good practice is to serve two pitchers – one with the cocktails and one with ice water.  This will generally help responsible patrons slow consumption.

Be sure to choose drinks that will stay mixed well over a period of time.  Good options include punches, sangria, Bloody Mary, spritzers, Mojitos, Lynchburg Lemonade, Margaritas, and tea and lemonade based cocktails.  These are just a few – the options are unlimited.

Now about pricing the pitchers.  You don’t need to discount the “bulk” drink purchase but don’t skimp on presentation.  Thus, if the pitcher serves 4 drinks, charge 4 times the per glass price.  Invest in quality serving pitchers to charge a premium price for cocktail pitchers.  When selecting your serving glassware, ask “how good will a picture of my cocktails in pitcher this look on Facebook?”  (Pay once for a beautiful pitcher and charge repeatedly for the high end presentation – real return on investment.)