Pre-Diluting Batched Cocktails
Serving up? Add water. Serving over ice? Leave it alone. The rule that saves prep from tasting watery or harsh.
Updated October 2, 2026
Dave Arnold's research in Liquid Intelligence measured what actually happens to a cocktail between the shaker and the glass. Turns out the ice is doing real work: adding water, lowering temperature, and changing the drink's body.
How much water ice adds
- Stirred cocktails: ~15-20% water added
- Shaken cocktails: ~20-25% water added
- Rule of thumb for batching: 20% water for a stirred spec served up
Pre-batching skips the ice step, so if you're serving the batch up or straight from a chilled bottle, you need to replicate that water yourself. If you don't, the drink tastes harsh, hot, and unbalanced.
When to pre-dilute
- Serving up or chilled without ice: yes, pre-dilute (~20%)
- Serving over ice or on the rocks: no, the ice at service will dilute it
- Serving from a kegged tap cocktail: yes, pre-dilute before carbonating
Keep batches refrigerator-cold during service. Warm batches dilute faster once poured, which breaks the balance you calibrated.
In PourCost, open Batch, pick the cocktail and how many, and turn on Pre-Dilute. It adds 20% water to the batch and shows it as its own line in the totals.
Takeaway