Professionals
How to use aquafaba for bars and cocktails: the complete guide
Aquafaba gives a sour a stable, silky foam head with no raw egg white behind the bar. It takes 20 ml per drink and two shakes, and the cocktails guide walks you through the recipe. Below, running it: why bars switch, which pack fits how many sours you pour, how to set up for service, and what to write in the bar book. Updated: .
Professional volumes, formats and the technical sheet are answered per project, so tell us what you are making and how much of it.
Why bars are switching to aquafaba
A sour is never cooked, so whatever goes into the tin is served as it is. That is the whole case for aquafaba behind the bar:
- No raw egg in an uncooked drink. Raw egg white carries a food-safety risk that aquafaba does not. The foam is the same silky head, with none of the concern.
- Every guest can order it. Aquafaba is plant-based and egg-free, so the sour on the menu is the same sour for vegan guests.
- A shelf instead of a fridge slot. Sealed, both formats keep at least 12 months at room temperature. The powder does not even need the fridge once opened.
The drink itself does not change. The whiskey, the lemon, the syrup, the dry shake and the wet shake stay exactly as they are, and the cocktails guide has the full method and its troubleshooting table.
How many sours before you open the next pack?
A 1L Tetrapak pours 50 sours and a 200g pouch of powder 150. The pack to buy depends on how fast you get through it once it is open: opened liquid lives in the fridge and is used within 3 to 4 days, while an opened pouch of powder, kept dry and closed, keeps until the best-before date on the pouch. Bartenders without a steady sour rotation choose the powder for exactly that reason.
| Your bar | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cocktail bar with sours on the menu, ordered every service | Liquid, 1L Tetrapak | 50 drinks per pack, finished well inside 3 to 4 days |
| Neighbourhood bar pouring a few sours a week | Powder, 200g pouch | Make up what tonight needs; the rest keeps dry and closed until the best-before date |
| Bar with no fridge space to spare | Powder | The pouch lives on a dry shelf behind the bar |
| Events, outside catering, pop-up bars | Powder | It travels dry, with no cold chain |
| Busy weekends, quiet weekdays | Both | Liquid for the rush, powder for the rest |
| Hotel group, bottled sour bases, beverage line | Liquid, 10L bag-in-box or 1T IBC | Continuous use, with nothing to make up |
If you prefer the liquid but cannot finish a pack in time, freeze it in portions of 30 to 50g, thaw in the fridge and stir before use. It is never refrozen.
Setting up for service
Three habits make the difference between a head that holds and one that does not, and all three happen before the first order:
- Pre-batch the base, not the aquafaba. Whiskey, lemon and syrup can be batched ahead. The aquafaba goes in at the shake, one drink at a time, or the height is gone by mid-service.
- Cold, and measured. Aquafaba foams faster and holds longer when it comes to the tin chilled. Measure 20 ml with a jigger every time: free pouring is what makes the head uneven from drink to drink.
- Powder is made up before doors open. One drink is 1.3g of powder and 20 ml of water; per egg white, 2g and 30 ml give 32g of aquafaba. Make up what the service needs, chill it, and it pours like the liquid. The cocktail calculator gives the figures for any number of drinks.
Busy weekends and quiet weekdays? Many bars keep both: the Tetrapak in the fridge for the rush, the pouch on the shelf for the rest. The dose is the same in either.
What to write in the bar book
Aquafaba asks for four lines in the bar book, and they save a flat sour on a busy night:
- The opening date on the pack. Opened liquid is kept at 2 to 6 °C and used within 3 to 4 days. Write the date on the carton the moment it is opened.
- The dose. 20 ml per drink, measured with a jigger, never free poured.
- The order of the shakes. Dry shake for 10 to 15 seconds first, then 10 to 15 seconds with ice. Ice in from the start gives a thin head.
- When to bin an opened pack. If the liquid smells off, shows bubbles or has separated, it goes, whatever the date says.
The process sheet prints these with the reference value of each step, ready for the bar book.
