Gin lover or gin novice – have I got the resource for you!
Shortly after I started this blog, I created a Twitter account for Ginerations and kept seeing @GinventoryApp referenced by established gin distillers, enthusiasts, and bloggers; so naturally I had to check them out! I downloaded the free app on my iPhone and appreciated what I saw, so I reached out to the man behind the curtain, Bjorn Blockx, to get the scoop! He was extremely kind to agree to Skype with me, so we “met” and had a great talk.
If you aren’t familiar with Ginventory, perhaps you’ve heard of Untappd or Vivino, popular apps to track your purchase/consumption/wishlist of beer and wine, respectively. I’ve been a user of Vivino for about a year now, and have multiple friends who don’t take a sip of beer before recording it in Untappd.
Playing around with Ginventory, I was first impressed by its beautiful graphics- simple yet stunning. I also appreciated the intuitive user interface. In other words, people who are a bit clunky with tech (like me!) will find this app simple to use. When compared to Untappd and Vivino, I saw many of the same characteristics, but I think Bjorn and team take their app a step further.
Yes, Ginventory gives the user the ability to both track and rate gins they own or have tried (that’s the Cabinet), and add those you’ve heard about but haven’t tried yet to the Wishlist. That’s good, but the app takes things a bit further – they aim to advise you on the perfect serve.
What’s a perfect serve, you ask? Ginventory will tell you the perfect gin with the perfect tonic with the perfect garnish. That moment when you take the first sip of a good drink and make your happy noise? You know the one I’m talking about. That, my friends, is the perfect serve. And with an inventory of over 2,500 gins to draw from, the probability of that happy noise is high!
For example, say you have a bottle of Aviation American Gin (awfully clever of you, as this is a darn good gin), and you’d like to know how to make the perfect serve. First, search for Aviation on Ginventory. You know you’ve found the right bottle as the Ginventory team has recently uploaded pictures of all 2,500+ gins. Along with the photo, a description of the gin – provided by the distillery – is listed. From there, you’ll see a list of perfect tonics, and perfect garnishes to add to your gin. If you’re feeling adventurous and would prefer to start your search with a tonic water,
Yes, even asparagus has its place.
or even a garnish, you can do that too. With a current inventory of 166 (!) garnishes, you’re sure to find something to excite your palate, even asparagus (which apparently pairs perfectly with a gin from Portobello Road.)
Really inspired by asparagus and gin? You can go a step further and order a bottle of Portobello Road from one of the several online sellers that have partnered with Ginventory, offering worldwide distribution.
Bjorn and his team of volunteers are continually working to expand and improve the app – and he said he loves hearing feedback and suggestions from users. It was a delight talking with Bjorn, as this is a passion project for him, and he’s clearly proud of all his small team has accomplished to date – they recently celebrated the app’s one-year anniversary.
So, take a look at Ginventory! The app is free, and available for for download with Apple and Android. It’s also available in multiple languages. And then let me know what fun perfect serves you come up with!
