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Will Robot Bartenders Change How You Make Cocktails At Home?

Sam Slaughter
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Robot bartenders, as weird as it may seem, are nothing new. As technology advances (seemingly at a pace with humanity’s consumption of all things distilled), more companies are producing products capable of taking the role of your friendly neighborhood bartender — if your bartender didn’t have eyes, or a heart, or the knowledge that whenever you walk into a bar, he should queue up “Let it Rock” by Kevin Rudolf and featuring Lil Wayne (though this last one could easily be programmed).

These same robot bartenders, though, have primarily been the domain of bars and restaurants (such as this bar in Vegas), as products like Makr Shakr are meant for a much larger scale than the creation of beverages for personal consumption. However, a new product may be changing the game by that technology into the home for right around $1,000.

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Barsys is a tabletop robot bartender that is controlled by an IOS- and Android-friendly mobile app. After selecting a cocktail from the 2,000 recipes that come pre-programmed or a drink that you’ve programmed yourself, you slide a glass underneath the pour spouts (there are five in total, so don’t expect Barsys to whip out some extravagant 12-ingredient cocktail) and let Barsys do its thing. As long as you tell Barsys what spirits you’ve put in the top spots, it will do the rest.

In creating Barsys, founder and CEO Akshet Tewari said he wasn’t trying to replace real bartenders, but to offer a crowd-pleasing experience — whether through showmanship or by exposing people to new cocktails — for those throwing parties at home. In addition, it alleviates some pressure from the host when it comes to making sure everyone has a drink in hand; the app that controls Barsys is free to download, so guests can easily program in their own drinks whenever they please.

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“Most people don’t realize that when mixing cocktails — like baking — it’s extremely important to have the proportion just right. Now anyone can make delicious cocktails right in their homes,” Tewari says.

Aa B2B version will also be available for purchase or lease by bars, hotels, or other establishments that may be interested in reducing liquor waste and tracking drink popularity while allowing bartenders to focus on more complicated drinks. As an added benefit, the B2B Barsys system will be able to sync with point of sale (POS) systems, making the entire process easier.

The product is now available for pre-order and will ship in September 2018. If you are interested in purchasing a Barsys robot bartender (or you want to gift us one), you can visit the website.

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Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
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