Frequently Asked Questions

About Kindred Cocktails

◼ What is Kindred Cocktails?
Kindred Cocktails is a shared database of cocktail recipes. After you sign up, you can build a Cocktail Book, collecting your favorites from the shared database. Casual users may search for and use recipes without creating an account. If you have an exceptional, unique cocktail, you can submit it for publication.

◼ What makes Kindred Cocktails different?
Kindred Cocktails focuses on craft and high-quality cocktails and allows you to build your personal cocktail book with notes, ratings, and customized ingredients.

◼ Is Kindred Cocktails for me?
Yes, if you share our love of craft cocktails and you:

  • are exploring the craft cocktail world, looking for high-quality recipes,
  • are a cocktail enthusiast with an existing collection of unique cocktails, or
  • are a cocktail professional looking for inspiration and a strong organizational tool.

Kindred Cocktails makes collecting and using recipes a joy.

◼ Is it free?
Yes.

◼ How does Kindred Cocktails make money?
Sponsors pay to place their advertisements before you.

Sign up

◼ I signed up, but I can't add a cocktail. What's wrong? Sign up is a two step process.

  1. First you sign up and pick a user name and password, and let us know your e-mail address.
    You will then receive a confirmation e-mail at the address you provided. You may need to check your spam folder.
  2. Follow the directions in the e-mail to log in and verify your account.

Why? Because otherwise automated spam can pollute Kindred Cocktails. I already have a mortgage, thank you.

◼ I verified my account, but I still can't log in or add cocktails. Kindred Cocktails requires cookies to know that you have logged in. If cookies are disabled in your browser, enable them and try again.

My account and profile

◼ I forgot my password. How do I get another one?
Click "Request new password" from the sidebar on the right of the home page.

◼ What's in my profile?
Your profile contains an overview of yourself and your cocktails. You can edit your password, e-mail address, picture, and other information. You can also share information about yourself, such as your role in cocktails, where you work, and so forth.

◼ What part of my profile is public?
Other users can see your user name, picture, and the personal information that you've shared (if any). They cannot see your e-mail address. They can also see how long you've been a member, how many cocktails you've added and are in your cocktail book, and the cocktails that you've posted.

Finding cocktails

◼ How do I search for just the cocktail(s) I want?
The home page and the COCKTAILS menu contains a filter which provides a powerful search tool. You can find cocktails by name, ingredients, ratings, comments, and so forth. The name is a partial match. You can use the pop-up list to enter a broad category of ingredient. If you search for Whiskey, you'll match all types of whiskey, even those that don't contain "whiskey" in the name, such as bourbon or rye.

◼ When I choose COCKTAILS, some of the search/filter options are missing?
Many of the filter options on the Cocktails search page use your Cocktail Book. If you aren't logged in, then Kindred Cocktails can't find your Cocktail Book. Simply log in and try again.

◼ I found a cocktail, but it's wrong, has an error, or isn't appropriate. What can I do?
If you entered the cocktail, then you can simply edit the cocktail to fix the problem. Everyone will appreciate it. If it is a substantial change, feel free to add a comment to the cocktail describing the improvement. If you didn't enter the cocktail, a curator will need to look at it and correct it.

  1. Visit the cocktail's detail page.
  2. Click REQUEST CURATION. Type a description of exactly what you think is wrong, and click Request Curation.
    A cocktail curator will examine the cocktail.

Requesting curation is a key to keeping the shared Kindred Cocktail database in good condition, without duplicate recipes, errors, and junk cocktails.

Adding cocktails

◼ How do I add an existing cocktail to my Cocktail Book?
Visit the cocktail's detail page. Click ADD TO BOOK. The cocktail will be added to your Cocktail Book. If you wish to edit the Cocktail Book entry (to enter a comments, perhaps), click EDIT BOOK. Since you didn't enter this cocktail (i.e. it isn't your cocktail), you can't edit the cocktail recipe itself.

◼ How do I type in a new cocktail?

  1. Read and accept our Style Guidelines.
  2. Check to make sure that the cocktail isn't already in the database. 
  3. From the NEW menu, choose NEW COCKTAIL.
  4. Type in the name, ingredients, notes and so forth. This information is shared with other users. If you wish, you may upload a photograph of the cocktail and/or its ingredients.
  5. In the Cocktail Book section (yellow background), enter additional information for your personal use (ratings, comments, etc.).
  6. Optionally, click Preview to see how the cocktail will look.
  7. Click Save when you are satisfied with your entry.

◼ I have a cocktail from a blog / forum / e-mail. How can I add it easily?

  1. In the blog, forum, e-mail or whatever, select the cocktail as text. At a minimum, include the cocktail's name and ingredients. Optionally include instructions and notes.
  2. Copy the cocktail to the clipboard (command-c).
  3. From the NEW menu and choose PASTE COCKTAIL.
  4. A free-form text box will be displayed, labeled "Paste cocktail data here". Paste the cocktail into the text box (command-v).
  5. Help Kindred Cocktails understand the format by editing the text as needed so that the information is in the following order, with exactly one blank line between each section:
    1. Cocktail name
    2. Ingredients
    3. Instructions (optional)
    4. Notes (optional)
  6. Click Preview to see how Kindred Cocktails does trying to understand all the parts of the cocktail, including the ingredients. Edit the cocktail and click Preview until it is close to what you want.
  7. Click Next. Kindred Cocktails will place your cocktail information into separate fields. Edit the cocktail as desired.
  8. Click Save to save the cocktail.

◼ How should I name a cocktail variation? What's the best format for entering a cocktail?
See our comprehensive Style Guidelines

◼ Kindred Cocktails keeps changing my ingredient to something else. Why?
When you enter cocktail ingredients,

  • Kindred Cocktails uses a list of synonyms so that the ingredient is spelled consistently. For example, you might enter "agave" and Kindred Cocktails substitutes "Agave syrup".
  • Kindred Cocktails may move what you typed to the "preferred brand" location. For example, you might enter "St Germain" and get Elderflower liqueur as the ingredient and St. Germain as the preferred brand.

If Kindred Cocktails insists on making an inappropriate changes, send us an e-mail and we'll find a solution.

Sharing cocktails

◼ How can I get a plain text version of a cocktail for posting on a forum (or other use)?

  1. Visit the cocktail's detail page.
  2. By the cocktail's title, click the COPY button to place the recipe on your clipboard.

◼ How do you integrate with social media?
Click the Facebook and Twitter icons in the menu bar to see our pages. Follow us!

Printing

◼ Can I print a cocktail nicely?
Yes. Visit the cocktail's detail page and print it. Kindred Cocktails will not print the parts of the page that aren't the cocktail itself.

◼ How can I compose a cocktail menu out of some of the cocktails in my Cocktail Book?
When searching for cocktail, choose one of the three "printable" output types.

Copyright and intellectual property

◼ Are cocktails copyrighted?
United States copyright law doesn't apply to lists of ingredients. These laws may apply to instructions, particularly if they are novel or detailed. Think molecular mixology. "Stir, strain, straight up, cocktail glass, flamed orange peel." is fine. Sounds tasty. What were we talking about? Oh yeah.

Please don't submit cocktails from creators who don't wish them published. That's not nice.

Similarly, don't expect copyright protection on your cocktails. We believe that the vitality and creativity of the cocktail world is advanced by sharing recipes and attributing them to their creator. If you don't share this view, then you should keep your recipes secret.

◼ Is it ok to post someone else's recipe?
Kindred Cocktails does not want to publish recipes created by people who wish them kept private. As a general rule, if a recipe has never been published elsewhere (blog, website, book, magazine, etc.), you should seek permission first. Most creators are thrilled to have their recipes receive publicity.

You should always attribute the recipe to its creator, whenever known. This includes the year in which it was created, and then the creator, ideally in the form "Person, Bar, City, State, Country (if not U.S.)". Additionally, you should provide a reference to where you found the recipe, such as a link to a website, or the author and title of a book or article.

◼ Is is ok to upload this photograph?
Maybe. You are free to upload a photograph if:

  • You took the photograph yourself and own the copyright,
  • The photograph is in the public domain or
  • The photograph is licensed to you or the public, and that license allows you to upload it.

Be sure to include the attribution (year, copyright information, basis of license). If the photograph is copyrighted, then check the "Add © symbol" checkbox to make sure the copyright symbol is displayed. Uploading a photograph in violation of copyright or other law is a serious issue. Kindred Cocktails will curate the cocktail to remove the image, and may reduce the privileges of the person who uploaded it.