The least satisfying of the three apps I tested was . Developer says it's "handpicked some of the oldest and most sophisticated recipes," which is a polite way of saying that there's not a whole lot of content to be found here. All told, iCocktails features just 35 drink recipes--in contrast, Drink-a-Dex offers more than 100 entries filed under the letter "A" alone. There's a difference between selective and stingy, and iCocktails lands on the wrong side of that line.

One could argue, I suppose that by limiting its selection to a little less than three dozen drinks, iCocktail might appeal to the casual tippler who just wants to enjoy a simple adult beverage without having to sort through every variation of a Manhattan known to man. But if that's the case, the app doesn't make much of an effort to reach out to that audience--it doesn't explain what kind of glassware you should use for any of its drinks, for example. iCocktails uses milliliters in its recipes, rather than the more U.S.-friendly ounces. At the very least, it should let users toggle between the two measurements.

More critically, there's no way to search for a particular drink, other than scrolling through a pane on the side of the screen. You can't search for rum-based drinks, for example, or type in a particular cocktail name. iCocktails ranks its drink by skill level, alcohol content, and class (which it doesn't exactly define), but there's no way to sort by these categories, either, making me wonder why they were even included.

In short, unless you're looking for a quick, not particularly organized overview of a handful of popular drink recipes, you'd be well-advised to pass over iCocktails. But if you're thirsting for cocktail knowledge, Drink-a-Dex and especially Cocktails HD will deliver just what you've ordered.