Having done a stint as a part-time bartender, I can tell you it's not as easy as it looks, unless you're working a local dive where a rum and coke is considered an exotic drink. Knowing exactly the right amounts of ingredients for tropical favorites like Mai Tais and Zombies or classics like Side Cars or Manhattans requires a sharp memory and a steady hand. Or, at least, it used to. The Perfect Drink kit from Pure Imagination ($69.99) not only tells you how to make hundreds of drinks, but also measures your ingredients and compensates for those who like to pour with a heavy hand. It consists of a well-designed app that works with iOS (5.1 and higher) and Android (4.1 and higher) devices and comes with a smart scale that measures each ingredient. The Perfect Drink works like a charm and is a blast to use, but it doesn't support Bluetooth so you have to use a cable to connect the scale to your smartphone, and the scale's LCD panel isn't illuminated.

Design and Features

The Perfect Drink consists of a plastic, battery-operated digital scale with a round 8.9-inch platform, a 750ml stainless steel shaker, two pouring spouts, a black plastic smartphone/tablet holder, a 16-inch 3.5mm cable, and a setup guide. The scale uses three AAA batteries (included) and connects to your smartphone's audio jack, which means your electronic device must be within close proximity of where you are pouring liquids, making it vulnerable to spillage. A Bluetooth-enabled scale would make more sense here, especially for those times when your hand-eye coordination may not be as sharp as it was before you started mixing cocktails.