Review: Webtender Website
The Webtender, which you can find at www.webtender.com has been online for 12 years now, going all the way back to 1995. It’s a huge database, featuring over 6000 cocktail recipes from nearly 4000 contributors!
On the positive side there are a lot of recipes to choose from and you can search or browse in many different ways. For example you can browse by name of the cocktail or by an ingredient in the cocktail or by category or even by the glass the cocktail is served in. You can also search directly for specific cocktail or ingredient. But perhaps the best way to find cocktails you can make is to use the “In My Bar” feature to tell Webtender what ingredients you have on hand and it’ll give you a list of cocktail you can make.
You’ll also find resources on how to become a bartender, a forum to ask questions and interact with the bartending community as well as fun little items like a drinking games.
On the negative side, as I mentioned Webtender went online in 1995 and it still looks very much the as it did a decade ago. You’ll find an unattractive gray background and a no frills experience. Pop-ups and banner ads still assault the eyes. But somewhat more problematic than the ugliness is that the database doesn’t have any quality controls. Anyone can submit a cocktail and it might be correct and it might not be. Often you’ll find multiple versions of many recipes and it’s left to you to decide which one to try.
While it does have it’s flaws, the Webtender is still a valuable resource and can help you find cocktails to mix. The “In My Bar” feature is quite useful, but you’ll have to wade through over 400 ingredients and maintain your list as you add new ones and use up old ones.