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Why I Built Cocktail Chooser

Why I Built Cocktail Chooser
My bartop.

I didn’t set out to build an app.

I just wanted a better way to answer a simple question:

“What can I make right now?”

The Problem

Like a lot of people who enjoy cocktails, I had slowly built up a home bar.

A bottle here. Another one there.

Before long, I had a decent collection—but no easy way to actually use it.

I found myself constantly:

  • Googling recipes
  • Realizing I was missing one ingredient
  • Forgetting cocktails I had already tried
  • Repeating the same drinks over and over

There wasn’t a simple way to connect:

  • What I have
  • What I can make
  • What I’ve already tried

The Idea

Cocktail Chooser started as a simple idea:

What if I could see all the cocktails I can make right now based on what’s in my bar?

From there, it grew into something more useful.

What It Does

Cocktail Chooser is built around a few core ideas:

🍸 Your Bar

You tell the app what ingredients you have.

That’s your personal bar.

🔍 Smart Filtering

You can instantly filter cocktails by:

  • Only Cocktails I Can Make
  • Popular Drinks
  • Untried Cocktails

Plus more advanced filters like:

  • Occasion
  • Season
  • Flavor profiles

Instead of searching for a specific drink, you can explore:

“What looks good right now?”

📝 Log What You Drink

This is one of the most important features.

You can:

  • Mark cocktails as tried
  • Add notes
  • Keep track of what you liked (or didn’t)

Over time, the app becomes a reflection of your personal taste.

Why Logging Matters

Without logging, every cocktail is just another recipe.

With logging:

  • You remember what you liked
  • You avoid what you didn’t
  • “Untried” filters actually become meaningful

It turns the app into something personal.

Built With AI

One of the most interesting parts of this project:

This is the first thing I’ve ever built using AI.

From planning to implementation, AI played a role in:

  • Brainstorming features
  • Writing code
  • Improving UX ideas
  • Refining the overall experience

It didn’t replace development—it amplified it.

What’s Next

Cocktail Chooser is still evolving.

Future ideas include:

  • Better recommendations
  • Smarter personalization
  • Deeper logging and insights

Final Thought

At the end of the day, this app exists for one reason:

To make it easier to enjoy the drinks you already have.

If it helps you discover a new favorite cocktail, then it’s doing its job.

Cheers 🥃