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How the batch dilution calculator works
Why the water comes first
A stirred cocktail is a diluted cocktail — the bar melts 15–20% of the drink's volume into it while chilling. Batch the same recipe undiluted and every pour arrives as neat spirit wearing a cocktail's costume: hot-tasting, unbalanced, and deceptively strong. Pre-adding the water makes the pitcher behave like a shaker.
The percentages
- 15%: batches served over big, cold ice that keeps melting.
- 20%: the stirred default — bottles poured over normal ice.
- 25%: shaken-style service (citrus batches served very cold, down fast).
Container and service math
The calculator sizes servings at the realistic 4.5 oz over ice, plus headroom warnings — a pitcher filled to the brim with 25% extra water becomes a counter. Label the container with the batch's ABV (from the ABV calculator) if guests are driving; the host's quiet arithmetic is part of the hospitality.