Making the perfect cocktail is an art as much as it is a science. But whether you consider yourself a pro mixologist or just someone who knows how to eyeball the ideal vodka-to-cranberry ratio, you can always step up your pouring and drinking skills.
Luckily, there is an app for that.
Cocktail guru and acclaimed former bartender of New York City's PDT bar Jim Meehan has released the mecca of alcohol apps. The PDT Cocktails app has a database of 400 cocktails, 69 recipes for the ingredients PDT makes and a photo of every single drink and ingredient in the encyclopedia of drinking.
Essentially it's a "database that makes it very easy to find a drink," Meehan said. And let's face it — where's the fun in drinking the same cocktail each time you go out or get mixing at home?
Users can search recipes by the base liquor used, the type of cocktail (e.g. martini, margarita), the PDT bartender who created the cocktail and the date of the drink's creation.
Don't like an ingredient that a drink recipe calls for? The PDT app provides a list of substitute ingredients for any given recipe. You can also choose to see measurements in standard or metric form.
Once you download the app, you can easily browse through all 400 recipes, but there are two better ways to search for the type of drink you're in the mood for.
The first way is to use the Keyword Search feature that lets you narrow down your recipe options. Have a bottle of whiskey at home? Just type in Jack Daniels – or whatever your poison – and a list will come up showing everything you can do with it.
It's helpful to first check out the Ingredients section of the app, which allows you to enter what you already have. Finding cocktails you can easily make saves you time while perusing for drinks.
Though listing every single ingredient you have – from the actual liquor to the mixers, lemons and limes – will take a few moments, it will simplify things moving forward. When you select a recipe that looks good, the app will tell you which ingredients you lack and how to substitute what's missing so you can make the cocktail.
The second way to search for a drink is to do so by your preferred base, whether it's vodka, gin, whiskey, tequila or bourbon. Under the Drinks menu, there is an option to find a beverage by provenance, type, characteristic or base. Click on By Base and type in what you're in the mood for.
One of the best aspects of the PDT app is having access to all their original recipes. Users get a guide to making their ingredients, like the beer-and-smoke glass rimming mix, and signature drinks like the 1-2 Punch or Meehan's signature Alma Mater.
If you just want to learn the correct measurements for a vodka cranberry, this app might be a bit overwhelming for you. But if you consider drinking an art form and are looking to master your cocktail skills and get access to the best recipes — then this app is for you.
You can download PDT Cocktails for iOS for $9.99.
Photo: Didriks Glassware | Flickr
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