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Cocktail Generator

For when you need an excuse to use the good gin.

For when you need an excuse to use the good gin.

Tap the big button. No accounts, no sign-up.

What next? — Movie night

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How it works

  • Get a random cocktail recipe from a curated list of 60+ classic and modern cocktails, all UK-buyable ingredients.
  • Filter by spirit (gin, whisky, rum, tequila) if you only have certain bottles in.
  • Filter by difficulty (3-ingredient classics through to multi-stage builds).
  • Save bookmarks of cocktails you want to retry later.

Why use this tool

  • Removes "what should we make?" decision paralysis when you fancy a cocktail.
  • Discovers cocktails outside your usual rotation — most people make 3-4 cocktails on repeat.
  • Curated to UK-buyable ingredients only — no "you'll need green chartreuse" pickers where you don't have it.
  • Pair with our easy cocktails guide for the 4-bottle starter kit that powers most of the picks.

When to use it

  • Friday-night drink decision — spin once, save the recipe, make.
  • Date-night cocktail surprise — pick something both of you haven't tried.
  • Pre-dinner aperitif — filter by bittering category (Negroni-likes, Spritz-likes).
  • Party hosting — spin 4-5 times for a small cocktail menu, pre-batch the favourites.
  • Learning to bartend — spin daily for a month, you'll know 30 cocktails by the end.

Sample outputs from Cocktail Generator

A slice of what this picker might return. The full pool is much larger — tap the picker for a random one.

  • Old Fashioned
  • Negroni
  • Manhattan
  • Espresso Martini
  • Margarita
  • Daiquiri
  • Whiskey Sour
  • Sidecar
  • French 75
  • Aperol Spritz
  • Paloma
  • Mojito

When to use Cocktail Generator

  • Any recurring low-stakes decision you'd rather not spend a minute on.
  • Bike-shedding avoidance — hand small choices to the picker so you save decision-energy for the ones that matter.
  • Late-evening when your prefrontal cortex is done and you just need an answer.

How the picker works

Cocktail Generator runs entirely in your browser — no servers, no accounts, no data sent anywhere. Each pick uses your browser's built-in cryptographic random-number generator (window.crypto.getRandomValues), which is uniformly distributed across the option pool.

The pool for this picker: 20 curated options. Every option has an equal probability of being selected on any given pick (about 5.00% per option).

Picker-kind picks return a single random option from the pool. If you add your own options, they're weighted equally alongside the built-in set.

If you want a deliberately weighted pick (favouring some options over others), the picker isn't the right tool — try structuring the choice as a wheel with duplicated entries, or split into two picks (category first, then item within category).

Related pickers + when to prefer each

Cocktail Generator is one of several related pickers on the site. The rest of this cluster covers adjacent decisions:

Mocktail Generator — the closest neighbour when this picker isn't quite the right fit.

Baby Name Generator — the closest neighbour when this picker isn't quite the right fit.

Bucket List Generator — the closest neighbour when this picker isn't quite the right fit.

All picks are independent — running one picker doesn't influence the others.

About this category

Lifestyle decisions are the low-stakes-but-recurring kind that eat mental bandwidth: coin flips, yes/no calls, morning routine choices, small habit-forming picks.

The category isn't about big life decisions — it's the friction remover for the dozens of tiny ones a normal week throws at you.

FAQ

Does it know what I have?

No — pick one, then check your shelf. Sub one ingredient and call it a remix.

Are these UK-pub-realistic recipes?

Yes — every cocktail uses spirits you can buy from Master of Malt, Whisky Exchange or a decent supermarket. We don't include cocktails that need obscure-import bottles unless they're truly worth it.

Beginner-friendly or only advanced?

Mix. Filter by "Easy" for 3-ingredient stirred / shaken classics. "Medium" for citrus-led drinks with egg white. "Advanced" for multi-stage builds.

Can I use this for non-alcoholic cocktails?

See our Mocktail Generator for that — different curated list, all non-alcoholic.

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