About
Who makes this, and why
I'm Travis Rudisill. I make drinks at home, I write software for a living, and I built the app this site links to. That last part is the disclosure, so here it is first.
The disclosure
I'm the developer of Mixed Spirits, an iOS and web app that's a searchable notebook for your own cocktail recipes. This site mentions it, once per page, in a dashed box, where it's relevant. The comparison posts include it and say so at the top. If I've ranked it well, the reasons are written down and every competing app is linked so you can check.
The site would still be worth having if the app didn't exist. Printed cards are a good system, and the classics don't need an app. That's the bar for every page here: useful with nothing installed.
Why cards
My own system was the usual one: screenshots, a notes app, a paper notebook, and a spreadsheet, each holding a different fragment. What finally worked for the drinks I'd settled on was a stack of index cards on the bar. One drink, one card, the ratio in the corner. The app came later, for the recipes I was still changing, because "a little too sweet last time" is a bad spec sheet.
What's on the site
- Printables: blank card templates and the classics as a set.
- Classics: one card per drink, with notes on the spec.
- Guides: keeping track of your own recipes, and honest app comparisons.
Accuracy
Specs are the widely used modern versions; where there's a real argument (the Daiquiri, the Negroni's vermouth, whether an Old Fashioned gets soda) the page says so. Anything I say about another app is limited to what's on its App Store page on the date given, with a link. If something's wrong, email hello@cocktailrecipecards.com and I'll fix it.