Cocktail Batching Sheet
Scale the recipe, add the water the ice would have given you, and write down what you actually did so the next batch is better.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/cocktail-batch-scaler
The batch
- Drink
- Date
- Number of drinks
- Base spirit per drink
- Modifier per drink
- Juice / syrup per drink
- Measured dilution %
- WATER TO ADD
- TOTAL BATCH VOLUME
- FINISHED ABV
- Container it goes in
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Per drink (ml) | x servings | Batch total (ml) | Bottles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The arithmetic
- Batch of one ingredient
- per drink x number of drinks
- Undiluted mix
- all ingredients added up
- Water to add
- undiluted mix x dilution %
- Finished batch
- undiluted + water
- Finished ABV
- alcohol ÷ finished volume
- Dilution convention
- % of the UNDILUTED mix
- ⚠ Measure your own dilution
- one drink, in vs out
Conversions worth having on the sheet
- 1 US fluid ounce
- 29.5735 ml
- 1 standard bottle
- 750 ml = 25.4 US fl oz
- 1 litre bottle
- 1000 ml
- A 60 ml pour
- about 2 US fl oz
- 1 US teaspoon
- 4.93 ml
- ⚠ Convert once
- then stay in one unit
Before the guests arrive
- Dilution measured from a real drink, not guessed
- Water added - the single step batches usually skip
- Citrus left out if the batch was made ahead
- Batch volume checked against the container it lives in
- Container chilled, or fridge space cleared for it
- Finished ABV known before serving a room
- Bottle count rounded UP
- Recipe and dilution written down for next time
The ice is an ingredient
A stirred or shaken drink gains a fifth to a third of its volume in water before it reaches the glass, and that water is doing real work - softening the alcohol and bringing the drink into balance. Batching the recipe alone makes something stronger and harsher than the drink you tested. Add the water on purpose.
Measure your dilution once
Make the drink the way you always do, strain it into a measuring cylinder, and compare the finished volume with the total that went in. The difference is your dilution, measured with your ice and your technique. It takes one drink and it is more reliable than any figure published anywhere, because the variable being measured is you.