10 Best Drink Apps
Gone are the days of staring blankly at a shelf of Argentinian reds, before finally just picking the one with the most interesting label. And no longer will you wonder what, exactly, was actually in that gratis shot you just downed at the bar.
Whatever your happy hour hooch of choice, there's guaranteed to be an app for it. Drink apps — everything from wine journals and beer encyclopedias to bartending guides and shot suggestions — abound across every digital platform.
They can scan your surroundings for bars and pubs, offer a great way to log notes about the wine you recently tasted, or provide the opportunity to spend hours — IPA in hand — reading up on the ins and outs of at-home beer brewing.
In fact, there are literally hundreds of apps, covering just about every thirst you might want sated, available for download. Some tech startups, like Pocket Cocktails Inc. and Digital Outcrop, were launched solely to create and market a drink app — the former's was self-titled, while the latter came up with Mixologist, one of the most popular cocktail apps available.
In most other instances, drink companies and self-proclaimed alcohol connoisseurs are getting into the app business. Absolut Vodka, for one, offers the free Drinkspiration app, which includes cocktail recipes based on whiskey, tequila, and — yes — vodka. And renowned whiskey auteur Jim Murray has his own app, The Whiskey Bible, which includes tasting notes on 4,500 different whiskeys.
But happy hour doesn't last forever — and you could waste plenty of that time trying to parse the best drink apps from the worst. Instead, save those precious minutes for good friends, good food, and of course, a good brew, and let us guide you toward the app that best suits your boozy needs.