Bartesian, a single-serve cocktail machine, will be available soon
Small-appliance maker Hamilton Beach will sell, market and distribute the Bartesian, a countertop device that uses pods and liquor to make cocktails.
Small-appliance manufacturer Hamilton Beach has scooped up a Keurig-for-cocktails device called the Bartesian and will begin to distribute it this year, the companies announced Tuesday.
Hamilton Beach's agreement to sell, market and distribute the Bartesian helps solidify that the product will actually become a reality. The $299 Bartesian first appeared as a project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter in 2015. Bartesian originally estimated that it would deliver the product to Kickstarter backers in April 2016, but the customers on the Bartesian Kickstarter page have said as recently as three days ago that they hadn't received a unit. And Bartesian's website lists an expected delivery of fall 2018.
To use the Bartesian, you fill the four containers on the appliance with your basic boozes of choice. When you're ready for a cocktail, you insert one of the company's cocktail capsules in the machine. The capsules are similar to the one-time use pods we use with single-serve coffee machines like Keurig . They contain the rest of the ingredients you'd need for one of six available cocktails: Margarita, Sex on the Beach, Cosmopolitan, Bartesian Breeze, Uptown Rocks and Zest Martini. The Bartesian reads the bar code on the capsule and automatically combines the ingredients with the liquor that you need for the cocktail.
The Bartesian is the type of machine for someone who likes an occasional cocktail but doesn't want to buy all the periphery supplies and mixers required. I doubt that folks who really enjoy putting together cocktails (at-home mixologists, if you will) are waiting for the Bartesian to hit shelves.
The appliance will be pricey no matter where it finds a home. Unless Hamilton Beach changes the cost, you're going to spend about $300 on just the appliance and another $20 for a 12-pack of cocktail capsules. That means your first 12 cocktails will cost roughly $26.67 (when you factor in the cost of the Bartesian). Party-throwers might want to hold off on busting out the Bartesian for a large crowd.
