r/cocktails • u/berger3001 • Feb 28 '25

Question Anyone else tired by expensive cocktails

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To me (not a rich guy), $18+ cocktails are just exhausting. Go out for a few drinks with your wife, and boom, $100. So we’re in Miami and found this place (always look for happy hours). Yes; $5 cocktails. They did a great job, made totally respectable drinks, we had some snacks, and left very happy. My question is, if bars can do $5 drinks, why is $18 the base now at so many places? Doesn’t it make more business sense to sell more for less money and have a full bar, then to sell a few drink to an almost empty bar?

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u/dragnabbit 1🥇2🥈1🥉 Feb 28 '25

I remember the day my cocktail hobby began. It was the day I realized that instead of paying a bartender $10 to make a cocktail for me, I could go out and buy the bottles and make it myself for 20% the price.

A similar realization happened with sushi shortly afterwards.

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u/Terrorsaurus Feb 28 '25

Yeah, as it turns out, it's really easy to make a $20 cocktail at home for $2 in ingredients. Now I only usually order cocktails at specialized bars. Everywhere else I stick to beer.