With much of the world’s popular music now available in the cloud, it’s easy to have a computer decide what you listen to next. If you’ve ever set up a “station” on Pandora, LastFM or Spotify, an algorithm behind the scenes is busily at work, digging up a song that will fit your tastes. But what if your tastes include catching a buzz with your tunes?
In a fit of self-described boozy inspiration, three developers at Boston’s recent Music Hack Day took it upon themselves to apply The Echo Nest’s open API music recommendation engine to pair drinks with music. In 24 hours, the trio put together an attractively designed site that asks what artist you are listening to, and purports to provide a tipple to suit the melody.
Sounds pretty slick, right? The only problem with Drinkify so far is that – in the developers’ own words – "booze still doesn't have an API." So although the site looks fancy, it comes up with some rather inexplicable or mundane (yet admittedly funny) suggestions.
For example, the drink you should have while listening to Miles Davis? One ounce of heroin. And don’t miss the serving directions for your narcotic: “Serve neat. Stir slowly. Garnish with salt.” (We’re not sure what happens when you stir up opioids with sodium chloride, but it can’t be good.)
How about a sip that pairs well with Miley Cyrus? We’ll accept the response of 10-oz. Red Bull as pretty darn accurate. And Madonna’s suggestion of 4-oz. vodka would be spot-on, if you weren’t advised to add pickled carrot sticks as garnish.
So the concept is there, but the back end definitely needs some work. Anyone have time to go through the 30 million songs in Echo Nest’s database and decide what cocktails go with which refrains? We’ll buy you a drink.
Have you ever dreamed of having an amazing home bar, filled with bottles you actually use and the tools you need to execute a fine crafted cocktail? E...read more ›
In this history segment, we take a closer look at a classic cocktail: The Boulevardier....read more ›
If you're a frequent Negroni drinker, always order Wild Turkey Bourbon in your old fashioneds, or prefer your ...read more ›
For this exciting installment of Behind the Bar, we had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Liana Oster, the head bartender at Dante in New Yo...read more ›
PBR has launched their own whiskey. Let's keep an open mind and see what is inside this bottle....read more ›
There's a new investigative series about one of the biggest scandals to ever hit the wine world....read more ›
Scientists may have discovered a more environmentally friendly way to make one of the world's most popular spi...read more ›
Negroni Week 2019 is June 24-30, so drink this classic cocktail for a good cause....read more ›
If you're taking an Uber, Lyft, or cab and feel unsafe, there are steps you can take to protect yourself....read more ›
This time on Behind the Bar, we spoke to Kat Corbo of The Study, who recently won Speed Rack 2019....read more ›
In a huge move for the American craft beer community, Boston Beer and Dogfish Head have agreed to a merger valued at $300 million dollars. ...read more ›
A new, high-end blend of Jack Daniel's whiskey, known as Jack Daniel's No. 27 Gold, which was previously only ...read more ›