Leave a Review Martin’s Index of Cocktails
Misses a key current source.
This does not include the current formulations of new and historical sources given by the International Bartenders Association. This is important because their formulations account for changes in the manufacture of ingredients.
The app's description states, "[…] presents over 2400 carefully curated drink recipes from the essential primary sources." The developer failed to specify what he considers a primary source.Show lessCopishwit
Developer Response
The content and focus of the app is documented on the web site for the app and I’ve been happily addressing questions about this and my other apps for years, but you didn’t take advantage of any of that. There’s only so much information I can cram into the App Store itself, but many of the “primary sources” are listed right there in the product description. I’m sorry my app didn’t magically conform to your assumptions. I encourage you to reconsider the value of the product on its own merits—it’s quite a unique and remarkable reference.An incredibly powerful cocktail app
This is quite possibly the best cocktail recipe app available. Included are literally thousands of recipes, compiled from most of (if not all of) the canonical cocktail recipe books of the late nineteenth through mid twentieth centuries. To collect all of these books and recipes, many of which are out of print, would cost many hundreds of dollars, so at $9.99 this app is really a great deal. In addition to the sheer breadth of recipes included, you get all of the unmatched functionality and features of the MixologyTech suite of apps.
The most important functionality is the inventory feature, which lets you enter your inventory on hand in the app. It then tells you which recipes you can make with your ingredients, a particularly useful feature on this app, which can be a little overwhelming if you just start scrolling through the recipes alphabetically. With each ingredient an explanation is given of what it is, and all ingredients are provided as links so you can pick an ingredient in a recipe for example and then see which other recipes call for that ingredient. Substitutions are recommended for like ingredients when you are missing a specific ingredient but have a good alternative on hand. A sync feature that takes about 30 seconds to set up will sync all of your ingredients across all seven MixologyTech apps and across multiple devices. This is particularly handy if you use the app on both an iPhone and iPad. It also means that any time you delete and reinstall one of the apps you can just set up the sync again and all of your ingredients are repopulated immediately.
Favorites and flags make it easy to find your favorite drinks and drinks you've been meaning to try. You can make custom lists of recipes and journal notes on each recipe, which is particularly helpful in this app as many of the vintage recipes will require a bit of tweaking to the modern pallet, and you'll want to notate that for future use. Recipes can be searched and filtered by various criteria including base spirit, method of preparation, drink type, provenance, and more.
Many of the most classic recipes reference which pages discuss that particular drink in the books "Imbibe" by David Wondrich and "Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails" by Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh. Further reading is recommended in the app, and links are provided to hunt down quality bar tools and barware as well.
Another great feature, if like me you're always looking to expand the inventory and possibilities of your home bar, is the recommendation of ingredients to acquire. Near the bottom of the home screen you'll see a count of your ingredients, and what percentage of recipes in the app that you can make from them. It then recommends the next ingredients that would most increase the number of drinks you'd be able to make if you added them to your inventory.
I am having a hard time imagining how this app could be improved upon, unless it could also mix the drink for me, but then, where would be the fun in that?Show lessMeat_Bucket
Historical cocktail nerdery at its finest
If you're interested in understanding the history of cocktails, especially the history of particular cocktails, this app is phenomenally interesting. It has a really neat feature of browsing through related variations of the same recipe across several years.
The design of this suite of apps is perfectly suited to the at-home cocktail enthusiast. Input your ingredients once, sync to all other apps (easily authenticating via 1Password support), flag recipes, and drink lovely cocktails. I'm a particular fan of flagging recipes I want to try because the list of flagged recipes shows you results from all installed apps in the suite. Very easy to find a good one to try (likewise with favorites).Show lessamorelli
The Platonic Ideal of classic cocktail apps
This app is well worth its price. That it will continue to expand with new recipes, sources, ingredients, and historical notes makes it a bargain.
Detailed, accurate recipes with proper source attribution. Multiple ways to explore drinks not only related by specific indexed information (e.g., source or ingredients) but related through curatorial observation (e.g., the Merry Widow Cocktail from 1909 is basically the same as the Diplomate Cocktail from 1922) or the Marguerite’s role as a proto-Martini. Excellent home inventory management tied clearly to “drinks you can make” with your current ingredients, or the addition of 1 or 2 more. Lists of relevant brands for ingredients, quite useful in mapping a modern ingredient to its differently named ancestor (e.g., “pimento dram” available as St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram). Links from ingredients back to all the recipes which use them; so handy for those moment like “Well, I bought this creme de violette for the Aviation, now what else can we make with it?” That’s not a complete list of features by any stretch, but ones which have especially delighted me so far. I will also note that the creator of the app is very responsive to issue reports and feedback. Updates are one easy click when launching the app and load fast. When I first bought it I saw two content updates come in at least before the app had been out two weeks. In short, this is a magical font of drink knowledge which will keep flowing for your happiness!
Do also note the great functionality for using the inventory to find drinks you can make with the ingredients you have on hand.Show lessMetaGrrrl
The most useful history ever written & great developer support
This app is a history of cocktails. But its name sells itself short as a mere index. Indexes do not tell you which ingredients you should buy and based on the available ingredients which drinks you can make. Indexes do not allow you to note and log drinks under different categories. Indexes do not show you a history of the evolution of the drinks across time in a visually informative way. This app does all these things and more. I have a moderately sized bar and not only can I make about 1K drinks now because of this app, I also have learned more about the history of cocktails and alcohol more generally. Indexes are not compatible across other apps. Here, the inventory is a dynamic library shared across all the Doudoroff apps. PDT ingredients are considered in Martin's Index, etc.
This app makes the connections behind the recipes for you, helps you pick most useful things to buy, manage your inventory. Simply log your bar inventory. It then knows what you can make, what you cannot make, and helps you figure out 'spirits of opportunity' to discover what to buy next to optimize the number of drinks you can make. It shows you which you are one or two ingredients away from making. You can create lists of favorites and log notes. Your inventory changes in one app are synced across the rest of the Doudoroff apps. This makes bartending like a pro easy.
Did I mention it does all that while featuring an incredible collection of well-curated recipes? It does that. I have not mixed a drink I did not enjoy. This is like, if there were a PhD in cocktails, a doctoral thesis that also mixes the committee drinks while doing a dissertation defense. It is seriously that good.
The developer supports the app like no other. I have never found such a kind, considerate, communicative developer who was so truly interested in understanding and assisting in supporting the app, despite the fact that I was running an older release of iOS.
Some reviewers complain about the price. They are fools. For twice the price considering the curation, more efficient ingredient purchases because of the app's analytics, and the curation, this app is a bargain. The money I save in purcahses alone because the app optimizes those ingredients with which I can make the most drinks (I can discern and choose based on my individual taste from the sample it recommends). Then consider the curation and history. The guy wrote a book that would sell for upwards of $20. $10 is like half off. To this, add that you get great support and you carry the information everywhere because the developer has made it an app. AND that you have a sharable inventory across apps!?
Never did history taste this good. A total game-changer. Wish this guy would adapt more books -- maybe Death & Co. or strike a deal with Imbibe to do recipe databases by subscription. I would subscribe in a heartbeat. Cheers!Show lessAuser237
Perfect app, hit-and-miss cocktails
My only complaint about this app is that so many of the recipes are just bad-to-bland. But that's not the creators' fault, as it's a superb historical collection. I stopped using the app much because of this — because there are SO MANY RECIPES, it's hard to keep track of what you've tried and what was good and bad. But with this latest release, they've added the ability to add you own notes, which is the only thing this app was missing. With that, I'm definitely going to be digging in again!Show lessTactfulCactii
This app keeps getting better!
I'd written to the developer to request annotations, and here it is. Must have cocktail app; well worth any price.ucbstirling
The best cocktail app on the market
This is absolutely the best cocktail app on the market. Whereas some apps just dump cocktail recipes into a clunky interface without background or context, Martin's Index really digs deep for the true bar geek who appreciates the vintage classics and lost gems of the cocktail realm.
The app's secret weapons are the ingredient descriptions: Tap an ingredient in a recipe and you'll find out what it is, where it is from, how it is made, what its history is, and what the best brands are to buy.
Further, the app is a living document that updates FREE to all buyers. When I bought the app, the database had about 1500 recipes. As of this writing, it now stands at about 2500.
Add to this the quick bar inventory function and the advanced sorting abilities and you have the perfect vintage cocktail app.
Get it. It is definitely worth the asking price.Show lessSwankCat
Is this the pinnacle of cocktail apps? Could be.
I've downloaded way too many cocktail apps. They tend to be either (a) woefully limited and/or (b) a bit spammy with constant ads and/or (c) ugly and/or (d) interfaces that were lazily designed.
What I think is key to this app is that the developer has taken the time to make the interface pretty much ideal.
Search by ingredient(s): check.
Save your favorites: check.
Ability to sync your data to the cloud: check
The killer feature IMHO is the ability to tick which spirits and ingredients you have in your bar (or in my case, kitchen cabinet) and then see the cocktails you can make based off that. Amazing.
Did we mention you can view/filter by cocktail book or era? Holy cow.
Last but not least, the amount of recipes. When I downloaded it the list was somewhere near 2000+ recipe. And then they push down updates when they arrive.
It costs $9 which I'm sure someone is scoffing at right now. This is one of the most well built apps in the app universe. It'll pay for itself very quickly. $9 is nothing compared to what you are getting.
Word.Show lesshappyrobot
Huge Waste of Money
The app did not save all the information on my bar, which I entered into my IPad, nor did it translate from iPad to iPhone. Very limited menu for those not preferring gin cocktails. Super disappointed in this app.HateHateHateThisUpdate
