Cocktail Recipe Scaling Calculator
Scale six classic cocktails to any number of servings.
Gives each ingredient in oz and ml, the bottles to buy, and the dilution water for batching.
Cocktail ratios are the proportional backbone of every classic drink. Learning the underlying ratio — not just the recipe — lets you scale for any batch size and substitute ingredients intelligently.
The classic 2:1:1 ratio (Sour family):
2 parts base spirit : 1 part sour (citrus) : 1 part sweet (syrup)
That is the skeleton the Daiquiri, Margarita and Whiskey Sour are all built on, though none of them is served at a flat 2:1:1 today. Modern specs pull the sweet side back to about 0.75, because commercial syrups and limes are sweeter than the ones the original ratios assumed. The recipes below use the modern versions.
Batch scaling formula:
Amount per Ingredient = Single-drink amount × Number of servings
Worked example: Batch Margaritas for 10 people: This calculator uses the modern spec of 2 oz tequila, 1 oz lime, 0.75 oz triple sec and 0.25 oz simple syrup, which is 4 oz of liquid per drink before ice. For 10 people:
Tequila = 2 × 10 = 20 oz
Lime juice = 1 × 10 = 10 oz
Triple sec = 0.75 × 10 = 7.5 oz
Simple syrup = 0.25 × 10 = 2.5 oz
The older textbook version of the Margarita is a straight 2:1:1, which comes out sharper and drier. Both are defensible. The quarter ounce of syrup in the version here takes the edge off supermarket limes, which are rarely as sweet as the ones the original recipe assumed.
Classic cocktail ratios reference:
The six the calculator scales, in oz per drink, exactly as the code has them:
| Cocktail | Base | Modifier | Citrus | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margarita | 2 tequila | 0.75 triple sec + 0.25 simple syrup | 1 lime | Shaken |
| Old Fashioned | 2 bourbon or rye | 0.25 simple syrup + 0.08 bitters | none | Stirred |
| Daiquiri | 2 white rum | 0.75 simple syrup | 1 lime | Shaken |
| Whiskey Sour | 2 bourbon | 0.75 simple syrup | 0.75 lemon | Shaken |
| Mojito | 2 white rum | 0.75 simple syrup + 2 soda | 1 lime | Built |
| Cosmopolitan | 1.5 citrus vodka | 0.75 triple sec + 0.75 cranberry | 0.5 lime | Shaken |
A quarter ounce of syrup in an Old Fashioned is about one and a half teaspoons, and 0.08 oz of bitters is between two and three dashes. Both are worth measuring once so you know what your own pour looks like.
Three classics the calculator does not scale, for reference, because they are stirred spirit-only drinks you build in the glass rather than batch:
| Cocktail | Base | Modifier | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negroni | 1 gin | 1 sweet vermouth + 1 Campari | Stirred |
| Manhattan | 2 whiskey | 1 sweet vermouth | Stirred |
| Martini | 3 gin or vodka | 1 dry vermouth | Stirred |
Dilution factor: Shaking with ice adds roughly 20–25% water to the finished drink. Stirring adds 15–20%. Those percentages are of the whole glass.
What you get below is the undiluted recipe, because how you dilute depends on how you serve it. Shaking each drink over ice handles it for you and needs no extra water at all.
For batching, the panel prints a dilution figure measured against a different base, so watch for it: 25% of the spirit volume, not of the whole drink. Dilution tracks the alcohol rather than the total liquid, which is why a spirit-heavy Old Fashioned needs proportionally more water than a Mojito that is already half soda and lime. It is the same convention the cocktail batch scaling calculator uses, and the panel prints the number alongside your recipe.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
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