Keurig recentlty announced it would discontinue its Drinkworks Home Bar, leaving a big gap in the home bartender space. There were several other options, but Black & Decker came out of nowhere at CES 2022 with the Bev, a rather impressive-looking machine that can hold five different liquors of your choice.
It might be the first home bartender capable of making a legitimate Long Island Iced Tea.
At $300, the Bev isn’t cheap — but it’s also no more expensive than other options on the market. The straws pull the liquor straight out of the bottle, which means there’s no need to get custom-made bottles or transfer liquor into a different container. You also don’t have to flip it upside down. Just load the Bev up with your liquor of choice, fill its water container, and then pop in a pod that contains the juice and the bitters.
You can choose how strong you want your drink to be. The Bev measures the appropriate amount of liquor and mixes the drink together before dispensing it into the glass. According to Black & Decker, the entire process takes roughly 30 seconds from start to finish.
Black & Decker has partnered with Bartesian (ironically one of Keurig’s biggest competitors) to make the Bev. The pods themselves are where the costs mount. At $15 for a pack of six pods, the costs can add up if you make a lot of cocktails.
You can’t control the Bev through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but it does include a feature where you can light up the bottles with LEDs to create a private party in your kitchen.
The Bev might be able to produce expert drinks, but you won’t save money using it. If you want to cut back on the cost of cocktails, look up a few online recipes and learn to mix your own. But if you want ease and convenience, the Bev is a great option.
