Beachbum Berry’s Total Tiki

Though I've made and enjoyed numerous drinks and cocktails over the decades, I never went very far beyond a few comfortable favorites, that is, unless I was sitting at a competent bar somewhere and could order a drink that was outside my comfort zone! Along with "The Bar Book" (Kindle version) by J. Morgenthaler, and this publisher's Easy Cocktails (Shaken and Stirred) app, I feel I've received a fairly inexpensive, but surprisingly thorough, mixology starter course -- that is, inexpensive if you don't count the liquor store bill! Features such as the ability to track your available ingredients (including across their various apps via the included sync service), making journal entries, and knowing what drinks you can build given your current inventory (or with one or two more ingredients), made the cost of this app a non-issue for me. Very useful. Basically, this is what one good cocktail might cost you at a decent Tiki bar! I've only tried a couple of the recipes so far, but am looking forward to many more. I hope lots of fellow drink aficionados will also purchase these apps, such that the publisher will maintain and update this suite of apps for many years to come.

Reliable recipes that make delicious drinks, and the integration with the other apps from Martin Doudoroff is outstanding. I can't recommend his apps highly enough. I would much rather have an app with a well-curated selection of high quality recipes, than an app with thousands of cocktails of questionable quality. Moreover, the app is well thought out, with extremely useful features. I particularly appreciate that this app has a number of lower-alcohol recipes, and that despite the reputation of most tiki drinks, not all of these recipes are sweet. All of them are complex and well-rounded. I've even e-mailed Martin a couple of times and immediately received friendly and helpful responses. I've purchased three of his apps and expect to add another 2 or 3 fairly soon. After using these apps, I don't want to use anything else. I know I'm gushing, but they are honestly that good. Quick hint: a number of these recipes call for "Jamaican dark rum". Yes, you can use Myer's Dark, but it's not ideal. Coruba dark is a bit better, but try mixing 1/3 Smith & Cross Navy Rum with 2/3 Appleton Signature or Reserve rum, if you can. There is a reason the recipes call for Jamaican rum, not just dark rum. Jamaican rum tends to be...funky. Open a bottle of Smith & Cross and you will immediately know what I mean. On its own it can overwhelm recipes, but mixed with a less overpowering Jamaican rum, its perfect.

This app is really well thought-out. Managing your inventory is simple, yet more thorough than any other home bar app I've found. Its ingredients and substitution database is extensive. Even reading through the ingredients and recipes databases is actually fun and enlightening. Inventory is not just a simplistic "yes I have this/no I don't" interface like other apps. Each ingredient in the database has a dedicated page with info, suggested substitutions from your inventory, and recipes in which it is either usable or specified. Different parts of the app are linked together in this way which makes it extremely usable. Drink recipes contain history, trivia, vintage artwork. It's just on a different level than other similar apps. Worth every penny and makes me want to buy the other apps from this publisher. To the developer - I appreciate your efforts.

This app is amazing. First, it has all the content of multiple great books on tiki drinks including beautiful photographs and a staggering array of recipes. Second, the app has a well considered inventory function. You can input your bar inventory and get a clear list of everything you can make, plus guidance on what what to shop for to expand your options. It even cleverly suggests substitutions when needed! Third, this app is part of a family of apps with a similar focus. The inventory you maintain in one MixologyTech app can sync to others. This was a game changer for me and I have gone on to buy several of these apps. This one is by far the coolest but they are all well done and help compliment each other. I may never buy a cocktail book again.

After scouring websites and bookmarking recipes, I stumbled upon this app which is exactly what I hoped it would be! A comprehensive, encyclopedia-like listing of tiki recipes, along with a bit of history on each drink and ingredient. I LOVE that you can check off what ingredients you have, and it will list what drinks you can make, (as well as what you could make if you went out and bought just one more ingredient). This has been extremely helpful in getting our home bar set up by allowing us to narrow down ingredients without breaking the bank all at once. Highly recommend this gem of an app! If you love tiki drinks and want to learn more about them, you won’t be disappointed.