Cocktail Databases Cocktail DB

I have always relied on simple google searches for cocktail recipes.  Often I will find myself scrolling through several sites, usually one of them a cooking site, another a non-drink-dedicated site, eventually hitting a recipe that looks good.  That all looks like it is changing.  Off of a random mention on a Cocktail Virgin post, I went to CocktailDB to check it out.

It rocks.  You can use its engine to search for flavors, ingredients, recipe names, or pretty much anything else, and choose a list of recipes.  The search results are then given in a list with primary liquors (be careful here though, I got excited several times about having all the necessary ingredients only to discover when I clicked that I needed ginger beer or something), and the recipe itself will have hotlinks for all the ingredients.

The recipes always seem to use the most pricey ingredient for the spot (like grand marnier every time instead of triple sec ever), so you have to be wary, but a little bit a behind-the-bar-creativity and you can get a good recipe.

One recent substitution I did that I won't try again: Homemade raspberry simple syrup for maraschino liqueur.  Since I've never had the cocktail in question with maraschino, I don't know what it should taste like, but I know it was good, but naked, with the syrup instead.

Left: Grand Marnier for like 35$

Right: Triple Sec for like 8$

Taste? Well, different, you can taste the quality, but it's just like any other ingredient choice, and to coin a new Redfaceism: Your Smilage Will Vary.


Anyway, check out the database, but check your liquor stockpile first.