an exact scale is an important tool to have in the kitchen, so why not the bar?
Turns out, lots of reasons. On paper, the Smart glider Barsys system is not a bad idea. Imagine a digital scale (like Drop) is connected via Bluetooth to an app on your phone that tells you what ingredients to pour into the glass placed on it. And that’s exactly how Barsys works. Want to make margarine? Pour in the tequila until the bottom of the light glass turns green. Then three seconds until you get another green light. Then lemon juice. Then simple syrup. For the novice bartender, all they need to do is wait until the coaster says “when” each time and the drink is done.
Yes, type. There are so many problems with Barsys in both concept and execution that it doesn’t really work well, even as a new product.
First, the Barsys may be a scale, but it doesn’t carry any kind of indicator other than a colored light. The scale starts out white, then gradually becomes bluer as you add an ingredient specified by your chosen recipe. Finally, it flashes and turns green, moving you to the next component and starting the process over. The problem is that if you don’t know how much ingredients you need to pour in (and the app doesn’t tell you during the mixing process), you may find yourself adding ingredients drop by drop—this will take forever—or slow. in the wine and blow right through the “stop” message. If you’re the freelance type of home bartender and aren’t too keen on preparing things like that, then this might not be a big deal. But in that case it’s much easier to estimate things when you put the ingredients in the shaker arbitrarily and call it close enough.
Photo: Barsys
Another big problem is mixing. While Barsys is available with a optional mixing unit—a plastic cup with an electromagnetic stirrer at the base—it’s not the most efficient way to make a drink. You can stir a martini, but if you really want to shake that margarine, you’ll need to put some of your muscle in it (via a separate shaker). Barsys is ambiguous about when and whether ice should be added to the mixer during formulation. The engine can handle a little ice, but you can’t fill the mixer to your mouth and get any traction. Any ice you use will need to be added either at the beginning (when the drum mixer is initially weighed) or at the end, never in the middle, as that will throw off the liquid weight measurement. For recipes that require a dry shake—such as a pickle made with egg whites—and then a second shake with ice, Barsys is particularly unsuitable. It should also be noted that this system is actually designed to produce only one beverage at a time.
