Batch ratio cheat sheet
The most common frozen-drink mistake is adding too much liquid. Each machine shaves ice for a particular volume, and its manual tells you what that is through its margarita recipe. These are the numbers every recipe on this site is scaled from.
| Machine | Batch | Liquid in the manual’s margarita | Per 12 oz drink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key West DM1000 / DM1946 | 1, 2 or 3 drinks (dial) | 3¼ / 6½ / 9¾ fl oz | 3¼ fl oz |
| Bahamas DM0500 | 3 drinks | 13 fl oz | ≈ 4⅓ fl oz |
| Fiji DM2000 | 1, 2 or 3 drinks (dial) | ≈ 4⅓ / 8⅔ / 13 fl oz | ≈ 4⅓ fl oz |
| Tahiti DM3000 | per 24 oz jar | ≈ 8⅔ fl oz | ≈ 4⅓ fl oz |
| Bali DM3500 | half / full chamber | 11 / 22 fl oz | — |
Thicker or thinner
- Bahamas: the manual suggests about 12 oz of liquid or less (3 drinks) for a thicker drink and 14 oz or more for a thinner one.
- Key West DM1946 and Fiji: for 3 drinks, about 9 oz for thicker and 10½ oz for thinner.
- All models: hold Shave Only to add ice, then Blend Only to mix it in — or add liquid and Blend Only to loosen.
Converting any recipe
- Add up the liquid ounces in the recipe (spirits, juices, mixers, syrups — not fruit or ice cream).
- Divide your machine’s number above by that total.
- Multiply every ingredient by the result.
Example: a recipe with 11 oz of liquid going into a Bahamas (13 oz) → multiply everything by 13 ÷ 11 ≈ 1.18.
Why the Bali column differs
The Bali’s own margarita uses slightly different proportions (more tequila and triple sec, less juice) than the Key West’s. Our scaling keeps each recipe’s flavor and matches the Bali’s total liquid; if you want the Bali’s exact recipe, it’s in the Bali manual.