10 Classy Cocktail Apps for Your iPhone

As the name would suggest, this app is all about getting you out of your old beverage rut with a little inspiration. Created by Swedish vodka brand Absolut, suggestions are categorized around vodka, gin, rum, brandy, whisky and tequila based drinks. It’s a good-looking app with some quality content. The methods of suggestion are fun — you can get “Drinkspiration” by location, time of day and even by background noise, with the app analyzing the volume to suggest “quiet” or “loud” drinks.

Great for: Suggestions for trying something new

1,200 drinks and cocktail recipes for free ain’t bad. This app is lovely to look at, with great graphics on a clean, white background. Functionality is basic — in the main part of the app, the recipes are listed alphabetically. The “category” option only offers by glass shape or color but browsing the latter will send you into a haze of single-hued loveliness that might well inspire you to stick to that one color for an entire evening’s imbibing.

Great for: Good looks

Boasting 8,500+ recipes, it could be argued that this app stands for quantity over quality. Much of the 8,500 options are variations. For example, there are three versions of an Afterburner and six of a Lemon Drop. The instructions are clear, and as a pocket reference, it’s certainly more than comprehensive and worth the free download.

Great for: Catching a bartender with an obscure request!

If you’re mad for martinis, this is a must-download. Essentially a list of the many variations of the classic cocktail, the app offers a nice photo, list of ingredients and detailed instructions on how to make each one. Like other apps here, Top Martini Recipes allows you to shake your phone for a random recipe. The retro cocktail shaker graphic shown on screen somehow makes it even more fun.

Great for: Martini lovers!

As a “Lite” version of the Pro app (which boasts more than 20,000 recipes!) this is a decent, free, well-rounded option with a nice bonus section on bartending info. There are two features that make it stand out for us, though. First off, the built-in unit converter is a fabulous addition and incredibly useful if you’re referencing both U.S. and European recipes. Secondly, the ability to narrow down recipes by ingredient is useful if you want to use up that bottle of creme de menthe that’s been lurking at the back of your drink cabinet for too long.

Great for: Unit conversion and reference

This doesn’t offer a lot more than the other apps we’ve featured, but its scroll wheel interface and competent search functionality means it stands up well to use in a bustling bar — especially if you’ve already had a few.

Great for: Going out on the town

Another app, another decent recipe database for free. Mixology also offers a particularly well done “Cabinet” function that lets you tick off the ingredients you have on hand in order to show you what cocktails you can create.

Great for: Making cocktails with limited supplies

From drink uber-brand Diageo, thebar.com is a slick corporate effort with good-looking graphics. What it does well is offer drink suggestions based on events. There are recipes for all kinds of gatherings, including tailgating, horse racing, award show night, board game night, toga parties and events you might not even assume would go hand-in-hand with alcohol, such as brunch and book clubs.

Great for: The hostess-with-the-mostess!

This app offers a sensible list of approximately 400 cocktail recipes with nice pics and plainly worded ingredients and instructions. A good choice for cocktail-creating beginners, you can sort recipes by difficulty level, as well as by taste (creamy, dry, fruity, etc.), which also makes it a nice option for those with more fussy palettes.

Great for: Fussy drinkers and beginners

We’re ending this list with something a little different from all the database apps previous. iSwig can be seen as a cocktail travel journal or a location-based social drinking game. With Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Flickr integration, you can check in, snap a pic, and tell all your fiends about the great grasshopper you just gulped in Greenwich Village. With push notifications, your friends can inform you likewise of their quaffing activities. If you like to imbibe in varied locations and have buddies with similar interests, we think this could be a fun app to record your beverage-based activities. Just don’t get too competitive, for the sake of your liver.