The Industry Plague: Overpoured Spirits

Gregg • January 12, 2025

(1st in the "It's Not Magic, It's Math" series)


 

Short on Time? Skip to the Recap Below! 




Day One Practice Number One

 

Over 14 years ago, I began conducting best practices workshops for alcohol business owners and managers. To identify best practices for the workshop, I interviewed my peers, ABC officials and other law enforcement officers, hospitality lawyers, insurance professionals, and alcohol harm prevention specialists. But, from day one in putting together the curriculum I knew sharing information about profitable pouring would be critical.


After 20 years of owning and operating restaurants and nightclubs, I’ve learned that mastering profitable pouring both:


  • Drastically improves profitability and sales, and
  • Reduces issues from overconsumption, which are the root of most serious problems in alcohol businesses operating past 10 PM.


Overconsumption leads to costly insurance claims and frequent first responder calls.


I wish I could say that reducing overconsumption also protects a business’s ABC license, but I can’t since the law against overserving alcohol is rarely enforced in California. Truth. More about that in another blog.



The Case for Profitable Pouring


I was thrilled to find a study confirming what I had suspected: my initial mismanagement of spirit pouring, resulting in a $14,000,000 mistake, was an industry-wide issue.




Here’s the study’s takeaway:


  • One-spirit cocktails are overpoured by an average of 42%.
    This means 29% of purchased distilled spirits are effectively given away for free.


Calculation

y = Desired pour level (1.50)

x= Actual pour (2.13)

 

% Overpour = (x-y)/y (.42)

% Poured that was waste = (x-y)/x  (.29)

 

Given the constraint that % overpoured = 0.29

 

Following client demand, I launched a secret shopper service to evaluate bartender pouring. Results confirmed the 42% overpour average for single-spirit drinks. However, the real shock came with multi-spirit cocktails:


  • Multi-spirit drinks were overpoured by an average of 80%, often exceeding 100%!

 



Upcoming in the It’s Not Magic, It’s Math series:


  • The Staggering Costs of Overpouring
  • Profitable Pouring Guards the Customers & Communities
  • Case Study: Overpouring Eliminated
  • My $14,000,000 Mistake
  • The People Behind the Numbers




People Behind the Numbers

By Gregg • January 17, 2025
(6th in the "It’s Not Magic, It’s Math" series)

My 14-million-dollar Mistake

By Gregg • January 16, 2025
(5th in the "It’s Not Magic, It’s Math" series)

Case Study: Boosting Profits and Safety by Eliminating Overpouring

By Gregg • January 15, 2025
(4th in the "It’s Not Magic, It’s Math" series)

Profitable Pouring Guards the Customer & Community

By Gregg • January 14, 2025
 (3rd in the "It’s Not Magic, It’s Math" series)

The Staggering Costs of Overpouring

By Gregg • January 13, 2025
(2nd in the "It’s Not Magic, It’s Math" series)

Is Your City Losing $1,000,000 to Its Alcohol Footprint?

By Gregg • January 11, 2025
Most city leaders see alcohol businesses as reliable sources of tax revenue. However, many cities unknowingly carry a financial burden called the Alcohol Footprint —the net cost to the city after accounting for all revenue from alcohol businesses versus the expenses they generate. The Hidden Costs of Alcohol Businesses Take Fullerton, California, as an example. In 2002, the city created a Restaurant Overlay District downtown, eventually housing 49 alcohol-licensed establishments. While this boosted nightlife, it also brought increased demand for city services. A 2006 report revealed the District cost the city $935,500 more annually than it earned. The largest expenses came from police, fire, and maintenance services. The report anticipated the deficit would grow with the need to add four new police officers costing $412,000 per year. Fullerton officials deserve credit for identifying the problem, but what about the Alcohol Footprint for an entire city? The numbers can be staggering. A Broader Issue One client city recently calculated its Alcohol Footprint across all 300 of its alcohol-serving businesses and discovered losses “significantly more than $1,000,000 annually. ” If your city is like most, with alcohol businesses that mostly close by 10 PM, some by midnight, and a few staying open until 2 AM, it likely carries a substantial Alcohol Footprint. Why does this happen? It’s often due to a lack of best practices: Inadequate Conditions of Approval: Many cities fail to include effective regulations for alcohol businesses in permits due to insufficient training in urban planning programs. Limited State Flexibility: California’s Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) is constrained by State liquor laws on what conditions the agency can document for a new licensee. Insufficient Police Training: California police officers receive just two hours of ABC law training in their Basic Academy, which includes no guidance on preventing disorderly alcohol establishments. Knowledge Gaps in the Industry: Most alcohol business operators and food-and-beverage managers lack access to training in best practices. The Solution: Best Practices for Alcohol Businesses Despite these challenges, there’s a clear path forward. Our Best Practices for Nightlife Establishments booklet equips alcohol businesses with strategies to reduce intoxication, lower service calls, and improve community safety. Research by Levy and Miller found every $1 spent on controlling over-service saves cities $260. We’re passionate about supporting well-run alcohol businesses—they bring communities together for meals, entertainment, and memorable moments. But they need to operate responsibly to protect public safety and city resources. Learn more through our Insight series, It’s Not Magic, It’s Math.