A Bartender's Guide to Pre-Batched Cocktails

At a busy bar efficiency and consistency are essential. As bartenders strive to deliver top-notch beverages while keeping up with the demands of a crowd, pre-batching cocktails may help.

Pre-batched cocktails streamline the preparation process, ensuring a seamless flow of perfectly crafted drinks. But, if not approached carefully, it can compromise the quality of the cocktails and potentially even violate health codes. 

Amy Peppercorn, Bar and General Manager at Reyna NYC, weighed in on this and offered us her candid perspective. 

“I have such a love/hate relationship with pre-batched cocktails,” she said. “Ideally, all cocktails are 3-5 pickups, but, what happens when you've got the ones with 8-10 pickups? For the more complicated cocktail programs featuring robust flavor profiles, it is necessary to partially batch. When executed properly, an 8-pickup cocktail can become 3-pickups to ensure for consistency and speed. For high-volume cocktail bars, this is essential.”

She also explained that it can be done poorly – or even illegally. 

“Here's the hate part,” she said. “I have seen restaurants and bars batch cocktails that do not need to be batched – what's worse, I have seen them do it illegally. DOH has a lot of rules around pre-batching cocktails… Ingredients like syrups and juices should remain separate. The goal is to batch the ingredients that can be batched and minimize the overall pickup count.” 

Keeping this perspective in mind, let’s dive in deeper. In this article, we’ll discuss:

• What prebatching is

• What the benefits of prebatching are

• Some popular pre-batched cocktail recipes

• How to properly prebatch cocktails

• How to serve these cocktails

Ready? Let’s get batching!

What are Pre-Batched Cocktails?

First off, what exactly is a pre-batched cocktail? At its core, a pre-batched cocktail is a beverage that has been partially or fully prepared in a large format in advance, rather than being assembled on the spot. This practice involves combining some or all of the ingredients beforehand, allowing the flavors to infuse and the cocktail to be dispensed quickly.

The concept of batched drinks is rooted in the need for efficiency and consistency in high-volume environments, such as busy bars. By preparing big-batch cocktails ahead of time, bartenders can streamline the service process, reducing the number of steps required to craft each drink.

There are two primary approaches to large-batch cocktails:

1. Partial Batching: In this method, only certain components of the cocktail are combined in advance, while other ingredients are added at the time of serving. For instance, a bartender might pre-batch the liqueur and syrup but leave the spirit and fresh juices for later. Or the base is complete and the bartender has to top with something bubbly, like prosecco or soda water.

2. Full Batching: As the name implies, this approach involves preparing the entire cocktail in advance, including all ingredients. The fully batched cocktail is then stored and dispensed as needed, often directly into the serving glass or over ice. 

Benefits of Pre-Batching Cocktails

Arguably the most significant benefit of pre-batching cocktails is the tremendous time savings it provides. Instead of having to measure out each ingredient for every individual drink order, pre-batching allows you to precisely combine batches of cocktails in advance. This streamlines the service process immensely, enabling you to simply pour out pre-portioned drinks as needed.

Additionally, pre-batching ensures remarkable consistency from one cocktail to the next. By blending the ingredients together in pre-determined ratios, you eliminate the variations that can occur when free-pouring and mixing drinks to order. Every guest is guaranteed to receive an identically crafted, balanced cocktail, round after round. With pre-batching, saving time and achieving drink consistency are accomplishments that go hand-in-hand.

Popular Pre-Batched Cocktails

The following cocktails are popular choices for pre-batching. This may be because of the number of ingredients. Some of these are better prebatched because their flavors taste better over time — like Sangria. However, cocktails with fresh juices or delicate herbs may be less ideal for pre-batching over extended periods.

• Sangria - This is a popular pre-batched beverage because it takes a lot of ingredients and is meant to be made ahead of time.

• Espresso martinis - Because of their high demand, many bars pre-batch their coffee liquor, vodka, and (optional) Bailey’s, and then add their cold brew or espresso before shaking.

• Margaritas - If you’re a tequila bar and serve hundreds of these on a busy night, pre-batching your house marg and your skinny marg can save your bartenders time. Simply shake and pour over fresh ice into your margarita glassware.

• Mojitos - As one of the most time-consuming drinks to make, mojitos are a great option to keep in a pitcher. However, if your bar doesn’t sell that many, this won’t be a great option. Be sure to look at your sales report and compare it to the time it takes to make a single-serving to decide if pre-batching is worth it here.

• Bloody Marys - Having all your vegetable juice, horseradish, Worcestershire...etc already put together can be a huge time-saver for brunch bartenders.

• French Pornstar Martini - This delicious vanilla and passionfruit drink can be pre-batched and then topped with prosecco when ordered.

French Pornstar Martini

Choosing the right cocktails to prebatch is dependent on your specific bar.

How to Pre-Batch Cocktails

Step-by-step guide (calculate ingredients, mix, store)

1. Calculate ingredients: Determine how many drinks you want to pre-batch and multiply the recipe ingredients accordingly.

2. Mix: In a large pitcher or container, combine all the ingredients except garnishes. Stir well to incorporate everything.

3. Store: Transfer the pre-batched cocktail mix into air-tight bottles or containers until ready to serve.

Tips for successful pre-batching

• Use fresh ingredients for best results.

• Opt for drinks without egg whites or cream, as these don't tend to hold up as well.

• For citrus-based cocktails, add citrus juice last to prevent bitterness.

• Taste and make adjustments before bottling if needed.

• Certain classic cocktails, like old fashions, Manhattans, and Negronis, are best when they’re made fresh.

Storage guidelines (refrigeration, containers)

• Refrigeration is key – store pre-batched cocktails chilled around 40°F.

• Use food-safe glass bottles or containers with tight seals to limit oxidation.

• Most cocktails will last for 3-5 days refrigerated. Citrus-based may only last 2-3 days. It’s important that you research this before starting the pre-batching process.

• Make sure to check your state guidelines as some pre-batched creations are illegal. For example, you cannot batch and serve Jell-O shots in New York.

Serving Pre-Batched Cocktails

Garnishing and presentation tips

• Have garnishes prepped and ready – citrus twists, cocktail cherries, etc.

• Consider rimming glasses with salt or sugar for a professional touch.

• Use fresh ice and festive cocktail picks or straws.

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Serving techniques (shaking, stirring)

• For shaken cocktails, portion into a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously before straining into glasses.

• Stirred cocktails can usually be poured directly over fresh ice.

• Top with any bubbly ingredients like soda or Champagne just before serving.

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Set your bartenders up for success

Pre-batching cocktails is a great timesaver for bars. With some planning and proper chilling, you can have batch after batch of delicious craft cocktails ready to serve with ease. If your bar is interested in prebatching, these tasks will have to be added to daily or weekly prep. Make sure to properly assign side-work, so you don’t run out of prebatched cocktails or let them spoil. Check out some of our other bar resources below.

• How to Run a Successful Bar: 8 Running a Bar Business Tips (2024)

• The Essential Bar Setup Checklist

• Bar Accounting Guide: Bookkeeping Tips for Bar Businesses

• How to Write a Bar Business Plan

• Bar Menu Pricing Strategy: How to Price Bar Menu Items

• Free Bar Manager Duties Checklist

• How to Make Opening and Closing Checklists for Bars