Enthusiast invents retro cocktail ‘computer’

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, cocktail enthusiast Lily Szajnberg has launched the ‘Cocktail Computer’, a device that offers drinks recipes based on home ingredients.

The Cocktail Computer makes home bartending simple – just input what you have and it will tell you what cocktails you can make

The retro device lets users find recipes based on the core ingredients they already have by punching stainless steel cocktail pickers into corresponding slots.

Szajnberg launched the product on Kickstarter in October 2015 and raised her goal of US$50,000 in just one month, with the device to be shipped to backers next month.

Vintage punch cards were the inspiration for the ‘Cocktail Computer’, with a focus on a “classic” and “accessible” design.

Szagnberg stated on Kickstarter: “I wanted a way for cocktail lovers of any experience level to be able to find reliable, curated cocktail recipes based on the ingredients they like and can easily keep in their home.

“The Internet has millions of recipes based on the ingredients I have, but they aren’t curated, and I don’t want to spend my evenings glued to a screen sifting through millions of results for ‘gin’ and ‘lemon’ cocktails.”

The machine includes more than 100 splash-proof recipe cards which can be swapped out in the future as updates are released, and just 24 ingredients are needed to make all of the cocktails featured.

The Cocktail Computer is available to pre-order now at US$59.95.

Crowdfunding has become a popular tool for spirits entrepreneurs – earlier this year, SB rounded up 10 of the most unusual campaigns.