A couple of weeks after testing out smart scales, what better to follow it up with than a device that helps you craft the perfect drinks to go with your lovingly crafted food? Perfect Drink aims to do just that. It’s an app and a scale that will guide you through the process, step by step. It also comes with a cocktail shaker.
Follow Perfect Drink’s instructions, and you’ll be able to create, well, perfect drinks. Or almost perfect, anyway. While the app and scale can certainly point you in th right direction, as any expert will tell you, it’s the human and personal touch that lifts a drink from good to great, especially when it comes to cocktails.
I’ve done a couple of cocktail making sessions so I have enough knowledge to cobble together a half decent mojito. Nothing too fancy. So that’s what I opt for, although the non-alcoholic section looks tempting too. It’s only 3pm after all.
My first mojito goes reasonably well, apart from a sticky moment when the scale tells me I’ve already started pouring the rum into the shaker when not a drop has entered it. It later turns out to be some water on the scale throwing it off, but by then, my mojito is sub-standard.
The second attempt goes better, although overly enthusiastic cocktail shaking had some unforeseen consequences.
It gives me the courage to try out two more: a Perfect Rob Roy (that’s a tall order already) and the non-alcoholic Fruity Palmer. The former tastes fine; the latter I wasn’t a massive fan of because it turns out I still hate iced tea. But the Perfect Drink got me through both recipes without incident.
If you are organised enough – or have a small enough drinks cabinet – you can add the list of alcohol you have lying around the house to the apps “cabinet”, which means you can find out what ingredients you have on hand when you decide you fancy a cocktail but aren’t sure what to make. It can also serve as a handy way to increase your knowledge about what’s the difference between mescal and tequila and why you can substitute triple sec for Cointreau in drinks and not affect them too much.
You can also build your own, adding the recipe in to the app.
The good
If you’re a little . . . over generous, shall we say, with the measures, the Perfect Drink will allow you to scale the recipe to compensate for your heavy handedness.
The not so good
The scale is a little on the large side considering the size of the cocktail shaker. Like the Perfect Bake it requires you to connect your phone or tablet to the scale via the headphone jack. Although a stand is provided in the box, it’s a bit restrictive to be constantly tethered to the scale.
The rest
The app allows you to add favourite drinks, edit existing recipes or even just see how many times you’ve made a particular beverage using Perfect Drink.
A couple of pointers
Do use the stand provided. It will make sure that your phone or tablet stays out of the splash zone when you are enthusiastically slopping the booze around.
Don’t try to swap out too many ingredients and then be slightly surprised when your caipirinha tastes absolutely nothing like any caipirinha you’ve ever had in a bar.
Do remember to make sure that you’ve put the top on the cocktail shaker properly before you start mixing enthusiastically. Eau de Mojito gets a bit much after a few hours.
Don’t think this will get you out of ever having to go to a bar ever again; sometimes it’s nice to have your drink handed to you in a glass you won’t have to wash afterwards, and one that doesn’t look like a baby elephant mangled your mint.
The verdict
HHHH Perfect Drink is a lot of fun. It won’t beat the barman, but it will give you a passable knowledge of cocktail making that you can then demonstrate to any of your friends who are brave enough to be guinea pigs.
