AI and Alcohol: The Virtual Bartending Game

I’m a huge fan of cocktails, and often order one (or three) on a night out. However, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when many of us were stuck indoors for months on end, I started making cocktails at home. Not only is it cheaper than buying them in bars, there’s also more opportunity to experiment by tweaking the ingredients to your own preferences.

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Years on, and with generative AI and large language models all the rage, I wanted to see if ChatGPT could be used as a virtual bartender. This meant typing various prompts into ChatGPT before sampling the cocktails it suggested I make. Making this a really difficult article to write for obvious reasons. Here’s what I found…

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Why Cocktails and Why ChatGPT?

Anyone can pour themselves a glass of beer or wine. But cocktails are generally more difficult to get right. Hence the need for either experience in making cocktails, formal lessons teaching you the craft, or a book packed full of recipes and techniques.

However, there is another option in the form of ChatGPT . On paper, ChatGPT should offer all the expertise offered up by Google Search as well as the ability to adapt to your needs in creative ways. After all, you can use ChatGPT as a cooking assistant , to help you land a dream job , and more besides.

As long as your prompts are sound, the AI chatbot should deliver. So, let’s test that theory.

Testing ChatGPT’s Abilities as a Bartender

I started out with a simple request before moving on to more difficult requests. And the results were interesting, to say the least. I have paraphrased the prompts used as there was often a back-and-forth needed to get ChatGPT to deliver.

Prompt 1: “What Can I Add to an Aperol Spritz Instead of Soda?”

The simple answer ChatGPT and I arrived at was lemonade. But before reaching that conclusion, ChatGPT offered up a multitude of different options to add to an Aperol Spritz. Many of which I wouldn’t have ever thought of. And crucially, I doubt your local bartender would have either. These included more prosecco, another type of sparkling wine, tonic water, ginger ale, and grapefruit juice.

Prompt 2: “Please Create the Best Version of an Old-Fashioned.”

You can choose any cocktail you want, but I chose the Old-Fashioned, my favorite cocktail in the world. The problem here is that ChatGPT just gave me the core, world-renowned recipe for an Old-Fashioned. So, while it was a very nice cocktail, if you already know how to make a cocktail (or know how to search online for recipes ), this prompt is a bit of a letdown.

I did follow up by asking for some tweaks I could make, resulting in some ideas for variations on the Old-Fashioned for another time. This included using maple syrup instead of simple syrup (as Canadians do), using flavored whiskies rather than straight bourbon or rye, and adding smoked ingredients such as oak chips.

Prompt 3: “Please Tweak a Classic Cocktail to Make It Even Better.”

There are dozens of classic cocktails served in bars worldwide. And while the quality of ingredients and methods vary, the core is always the same. So I wanted to see if ChatGPT could offer a twist on a classic. I chose the Pina Colada, probably my second favorite cocktail behind the Old-Fashioned. But you can choose any classic cocktail you want.

To improve on the standard Pina Colada, ChatGPT suggested using fresh pineapple, toasted coconut, different rums, fresh herbs, and aromatic bitters. So I tried two of these based on the ingredients I had to hand.

Adding a few drops of bitters to the Pina Colada really worked, adding a bitter taste to counter the sweet creaminess of a standard mix. While it still looks the same, there is a bitterness in the background.

I also tried adding cinnamon, which also worked well. However, the cinnamon upped the sweetness and overpowered some of the other flavors.

Prompt 4: “Please Create a New, Wholly Original Cocktail.”

While classic cocktails have stood the test of time for a reason, plenty of new combinations of ingredients are still waiting to be discovered. Bartenders the world over try to create new cocktails with the hopes that one of their creations will prove to be so popular that it, and they, become famous.

I originally asked ChatGPT to make me a new and original cocktail without specifying the ingredients I had to hand, which meant several new creations that I simply couldn’t make. That isn’t to say this isn’t worth doing; maybe you’ll be so enamored with one of its suggestions that you’ll go out and buy the ingredients needed.

However, I was thirsty.

I, therefore, asked for a new and original cocktail with pineapple juice as the base, knowing I had the spirits to hand that pair well with pineapple juice. Unfortunately, the “Tropical Sunrise” contained orange liqueur, which I didn’t have in my cupboard. Not to worry, as ChatGPT adapted this to, first, the “Tropical Breeze” (containing orange juice I didn’t have) and then the “Mango Delight” (containing mango juice I also didn’t have).

After one final try, ChatGPT produced the “Island Serenade,” which turned out to be a simpler Pina Colada containing four parts pineapple juice, two parts coconut rum, one part lime juice, and one part simple syrup.

Prompt 5: “What Cocktail Should I Make Right Now?”

Last but not least, I wanted to see how well ChatGPT could adapt to specific needs at specific times. So I asked it to suggest a refreshing, satisfying cocktail to drink on a midweek evening after the sun has set. After initially suggesting a simple Mojito followed by a Rum Sour (neither of which I had all the ingredients for), ChatGPT suggested an Orange Blossom (four parts gin, two parts freshly squeezed orange juice, and one part simple syrup).

I had never heard of this cocktail, but a quick Google Search reveals that it’s a well-known recipe. In fact, the recipes vary wildly, but the one that ChatGPT offered up made for a tasty cocktail that definitely aligned with the brief I had provided.

So, Is ChatGPT Good at Making Cocktails?

In a word, yes. But as with everything related to ChatGPT and generative AI as a whole , the key is providing the correct prompts and parameters. If you just want a classic cocktail recipe to follow, you can just type that into Google Search. However, ChatGPT comes into its own when you ask it to adapt cocktails or suggest small tweaks to improve the standard recipes.

Every single one of its combinations worked in broad terms. There wasn’t a single blend of ingredients that it suggested that led me to throw the cocktail down the sink. And that is a great start. As someone who has experimented with combining flavors, I can tell you that it’s very easy to get cocktails wrong.

Three Big Takeaways From This Experiment

The three things that stood out from this experiment are:

• ChatGPT is bad at naming new cocktails, invariably splicing two words together to create a rather generic and bland name.
• ChatGPT likes alcohol, usually suggesting strong cocktails. So I suggest adjusting the measures using your common sense.
• ChatGPT needs a little hand-holding at times, so always strive to be clear in explaining what you want when writing prompts.

The first takeaway doesn’t particularly matter (you can always make up a name afterward), and the second should be adjusted to your taste (and tolerance!). But the third is an important note concerning ChatGPT; it’s only as good as the prompts it receives.

Who Needs a Mixologist When You Have ChatGPT on Hand?

Ultimately, I discovered that ChatGPT is more than capable of helping you make cocktails at home. It knows what ingredients pair well together, can tweak recipes based on conversational prompts, and even create new and original cocktails.

Is it going to put bartenders and mixologists out of a job? Not anytime soon, but for those of us who enjoy making cocktails at home, ChatGPT (and we can assume other generative AIs) can be a pretty reliable source of ideas and inspiration.

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Years on, and with generative AI and large language models all the rage, I wanted to see if ChatGPT could be used as a virtual bartender. This meant typing various prompts into ChatGPT before sampling the cocktails it suggested I make. Making this a really difficult article to write for obvious reasons. Here’s what I found…

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