Batching for Saturday night

Batching is the spec multiplied by how many times you will make it, plus a little honesty about waste. Do it on Thursday so Saturday is pouring, not maths.

Three ways to pick the size

• Saturday night. Hours on the shift × how many of that drink you actually sell in an hour. Use a quiet Saturday, not the one with a wedding next door, unless you like leftover stock.
• Event. Guests × drinks per guest for the length of the booking. People drink faster in the first hour. Plan for that.
• Keg. Pick the keg, then decide how much headspace you want. A 19 L Cornelius filled to about 90% is a working 17 L of finished cocktail — not 19 L of spec plus a prayer.

The batching calculator does the multiplication. You still have to choose water.

Water belongs in the batch

If the drink will be poured from a keg or a bottle into a glass with no ice, put the full dilution in the batch. If it will be poured over ice, hold some water back so the first sip is not already tired.

Write water as its own line, in millilitres, the same as the spirit. That is the only way two people can build the same batch a week apart.

Spare, citrus and common sense

A 5% spare covers overpours, tasting and the glass that breaks. Citrus in a batch fades. If the event is tomorrow, juice fresh and add it last. If the keg has to sit, consider a more stable acid and say so on the card — do not pretend week-old lemon is still lemon.

Taste the batch at serve temperature, not from the mixing bucket. Cold hides sugar and slop. Adjust, write the change down, and then lock the spec so the next Saturday starts from a known drink.

All knowledge notes