Bars are rethinking cocktail menus to make drinking more transparent
A growing number of bars are adding ABV levels to each drink on the menu, giving customers more clarity with every round.
Bartender Nicole Yarovinsky has a few bones to pick with cocktail menus. Even as demand soars for low- and nonalcoholic (NA) cocktails, NA options are often placed at the back of the menu. Meanwhile, cocktails low in alcohol by volume (ABV) are almost impossible for a customer to decipher.
As Yarovinsky designed the menu for Italian aperitivo bar, The Radicle, which opened in January in Chicago, she didn’t include “spirit-free” and “stirred and boozy” sections. Instead, it lists the ABV of every cocktail in ascending order, from the 0% ABV Italian Fizz (raspberries, fermented whey and egg white) to the 29.1% ABV Anguilla (gin, vodka, vermouth and seaweed).
Weeknight Giuseppe (0.8% ABV) at The Radicle. Credit: Photo by Neil Burger for The Radicle
“If people want to have a few drinks, specifically cocktails, it makes for more autonomy on behalf of guests, whether they’re starting or wrapping up their night,” says Yarovinsky, the beverage director at The Radicle and sibling pasta restaurant Daisies.
The Radicle isn’t alone in this approach, nor is it first. Taking cues from markets like Japan, more U.S. bars now list cocktail ABVs (which factors in alcohol content, post dilution) to help drinkers map out their experience. Beyond transparency and hospitality, they cite value perception and profitability.
In Pittsburgh, molecular mixology-focused Space Bar began to list cocktail ABVs on its menu in March. Acclaimed Washington, D.C. cocktail bar Allegory made the move about five years ago.
All That She Carried (23.7% ABV) at Allegory. Credit: Courtesy of NOM Digital for Allegory
“I truly believe giving guests all the information is vital,” says Allegory’s creative director, Deke Dunne. He says that Allegory’s menu also lists allergens. “We knew that if we gave people that information, they were going to use it to help them order. We didn’t quite realize how deeply people would appreciate it as good hospitality."
Most bars, including The Radicle and Allegory, rely on a combination of spreadsheets and old-fashioned algebra to calculate ABV. More digital tools are becoming available, too.
In 2022, bartending vet and author Jeffrey Morgenthaler, another early proponent of disclosing cocktail ABVs, released an ABV calculator on his blog. It’s since been made into an app. Though it’s a useful starting point, ABV doesn’t tell the whole story, says Space Bar proprietor Dale Vaughn.
Mistaken For A Lover (13% ABV) at The Radicle. Credit: Photo by Neil Burger for The Radicle
“[Cocktails with] 14% in a three-ounce pour and 14% in a six-ounce drink carry the same total alcohol, but they're not the same experience,” he says. “A spirit-forward Old Fashioned signals you to sip slowly in a way a bright, fruity highball at the same ABV simply doesn't.”
The added time and math are worthwhile for Vaughn. He finds that customers spend less time worrying about getting a boozy bang for their buck or trying to unriddle the conceptual menu.
“It changes the service dynamic entirely,” he says. “The tableside conversation we were having to defend value or explain potency simply disappears. Guests relax. They choose based on what sounds interesting, not what they think they're getting away with.”
Black Dove (7.7% ABV) at Allegory. Credit: Courtesy of NOM Digital for Allegory
It could help the bottom line too, as customers that make cocktail decisions based on ABV may be more likely to order a second or third round. To offer the information can also avoid follow-up questions, likely in front of their companions, that shift the focus to whether the customer is drinking alcohol, Dunne says.
“People who are out with friends, had a drink or two but don’t want to go home, can order an NA drink, which we integrate like any other cocktail on the menu,” he says. “When everything is clearly listed, it creates an environment where everyone can just drink and be happy.”
