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How bars price their drinks — the real cost breakdown behind a £18 cocktail, from ingredients to rent to labour. What you're actually paying for and why.
The short answer
6 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
How bars price their drinks remains one of the least understood economics in hospitality. You pay £18 for a cocktail and wonder if you're being gouged. The reality is more complex. That price reflects ingredients, rent, labour, waste, and the bar's commitment to quality. Understanding the breakdown changes how you think about what you're actually paying for.
I've spent years covering European bar culture and pricing. What I've learned is this: bars price drinks to survive, not to exploit. The bars that seem expensive often run on tighter margins than you'd think. The ones that seem cheap often sacrifice somewhere you can't see.
Spirits cost more than most drinkers realize. A bottle of premium whiskey might cost £60 wholesale. It yields about 25 drinks. That's £2.40 per drink in spirit alone. Add fresh citrus at £0.60, bitters at £0.15, sugar at £0.10, and ice at £0.20. Your ingredient cost is now £3.45 before labour, rent, or utilities.
Good bars use premium spirits. Connaught Bar in London serves drinks with top-shelf spirits exclusively, which immediately raises costs. Their pricing reflects this commitment. A cheaper bar might use the same recipe with mid-tier spirits and charge half. Same drink, different philosophy.