Yesterday was national margarita day, so I thought we’d talk about spirit flavored wine margaritas. 

Probably once a week I get the question, “Can you make a good tasting margarita with spirit flavored wines?”

To this I respond, “Yes!”  Let’s break this down a bit and look at cocktail making in general. 

We’ve all had great tasting cocktails and we’ve all had a cocktail that we can barely finish. So, what’s the difference? It’s not always the flavor of the spirit, but the quality of the other ingredients used in the cocktail that make it taste good or bad. A margarita made with fresh squeezed lime and agave syrup is going to taste a hell of a lot better than one made with a massed produced cocktail mix made with lime concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, and other, less quality, ingredients. Sounds pretty straight forward, right? 



So, yes, a cocktail made with 100% organic tequila with no additives is going to taste better than one made with Mixto tequila. However, using higher quality ingredients can also make a great tasting and refreshing drink. 

What does this have to do with Spirit Flavored Wines? I’ve spent thousands of hours in the lab working to perfect or spirit flavored wines formulas. I’m biased, but our SGBG line up is the best I’ve tasted on the market. Do they taste exactly like spirits? No, and we don’t claim they do. How can something with half the alcohol in it have the same alcohol burn? It can’t, but they are an excellent, profitable, base that gives restaurants the ability to make a great-tasting margarita. 

I keep talking about profitability, so let’s break it down. For purposes of this blog, I will use our California pricing, but it is universal. 

To make a standard margarita, we suggest using 3 oz. of La Quiere Agave Wine and 6 oz. of margarita mix. Once you fill the cup with ice, this should fill a 12oz glass. With this formula your “pour cost” or the cost of the ingredients is about $1.59 per cocktail. Each restaurant has a different demographic, but most cocktails go for anywhere from $8.00- $15.00 per cocktail. This means that profit per cocktail is anywhere from $6.41 - $13.41 or 80%- 89% margin. At a $9.00 bottle cost, the profit from the first 2 cocktails you sell pay for the bottle and from there, its pure profit for the restaurant. How many items on your menu can provide that type of return? 

Now this formula does use a mix, but you can see similar results using fresh ingredients. Produce and fresh ingredients might cost more but let’s say the pour cost is double. You are still making $4.82 - $11.82 per cocktail. Great profits, and let’s not forget, with these higher-quality ingredients comes a higher selling price for your cocktails. So, these profits can increase. 

This example merely scratches the surface of the many different cocktails and profits available. If you are interested in learning more about how to make and profit from cocktail making, visit our website at www.sangabrielbeveragegroup.com or give us a call at 626.677.2700. Our experts would love to help you develop your very own, profitable, cocktail program. 

Cheers!

-Nick