Crazy, isn't it?

Keurig's trying to remain relevant. This article was written more than 3 years ago, and sales were declining then. The company had to come up with something else.

I agree, though. Cocktails are more enjoyed when they are fresh. I don't care for mixers and prefer to make my own.

For awhile now there has been a trend for rather useless one-thing trendy cooking/food machines/appliances/tools. This looks like another one of those. Another toy. I guess I have better places to put my money.

A toy indeed! With the hot beverage maker, we're used to instant coffee, pour through, rather than steeped tea, instant water only cocoa, powdered creamer... These things aren't great, but not horrible. The whole point of the pods is a fast instant drink that's better than what you'd get from the various powders and tepid water in the urn in the staff room, or ditto at Grandma's house where they gave up caffeine decades ago.

Instant beer??? Put a fairly large canister into a weird machine and have it put the water and bubbles back in? They already make shelf stable beer in cans. If the point is to make it colder, they also make countertop instant chillers. That would make more sense.

Feathers, that was an interesting article. It seems the point is to get you committed to buying pods. But an alcohol dispenser isn't going to be in a staff room, or breakfast meeting, and while some people care little enough about the flavor of their cocktails that they do use powdered mixes for those, they do not use powdered booze! Real booze keeps and is shelf stable. Most cocktails, if they're meant to be imbibed cold, are chilled on the spot with ice. If you don't have ice, there's a little countertop ice maker for that.

Kate, I agree with you about toys, but the bubble waffle maker that does't have changeable grids and really only makes bubble waffles doesn't bother me. In fact, I like my only does one thing, better quality than most "toy" appliances, Belgian waffle maker. Do more get given as gifts, barely used, and garage saled, than given pride of place and used several times per week? Probably. But more useful than some of the crap served up by the "gift items" sector, and if you want to eat Bubble waffles at home, arguably necessary, seeing as stovetop bubble waffle irons would take up nearly as much space and be harder to use.

I'm really having trouble seeing the utility of this thing, other as a gimmick to keep Keurig in business, perhaps as a huge tax write off.

I'm ranting again. I find this thing offensive on so many levels, including the potential of abuse by children playing bartender precisely for its toylike qualities.

Ugg. That's an eye roller. If I had the energy to rant it would be all the useless counter-top appliances on trend.

I don't need another small appliance. I wouldn't be interested as DH and I do not drink mixed drinks or serve them to out guests. Beer, wine, iced tea or lemon water. That's it.

But...Elizabeth! It "makes" beer and wine! That's the yuckiest part of it!

If on a space station, then maybe. Otherwise, it's just electronitrash.

Seems like an alcoholic's dream = S

I thought of that Carol, but unless it's meant to be aversion therapy, I'm not sure that it holds. I've known some alcoholics. Most have a favorite tipple. Many are very price sensitive (my vice is caffeine free diet coke, and it, along with berries, is the main thing I will only buy when the price is right). Some others aren't so bad off that they won't refuse rot gut just to get their drink on, and are very choosy about what they're willing to imbibe. As far as I can tell, this thing is expensive to run--the reviews say the price per drink is similar to bar prices, for inferior product. Perhaps it's more of a dream for the host with alcoholic guests? Offer a variety of drinks without stocking bottles, for the guests who can't enjoy themselves without a drink?

I have yet to find a truly redeeming feature with this thing. I can see the utility of the bubble waffle maker, even though the whole point on a waffle is to have the topping (even if it's just butter) pool in the holes, where it would slide in between the bubbles and make the interstices soggy--they were originally meant to be eaten plain, and now are more likely to be made into a cone around fillings. It looks fun to eat, however, and can make you dream of being in Hong Kong. Limited, but nothing to make one bonkers about. :)

John, good point about the space travel...

Well, yes,I too have 3 waffle makers: one regular, one Belgian, and one tiny. But, I once watched a whole TV show (I think Pioneer Woman) showing how college students could cook many foods on their waffle iron. And, I have an electric water pot that is only suppose to be used for heating water. I think my list of one-use items ends there. I actually thought the most silly I ever saw was a special clay pot whose sole purpose was just for roasting a head of garlic.

I confess that I looked at the drink maker with thought of giving it as a gift. I thought the novelty might be worth it before I saw how it made drinks, then I discarded the idea. I don't own any one-use appliances, but I get seduced by clever engineering, which this drink maker is not.

LOL! I was given one of those little earthenware garlic roasters when they were a fad. It works, but not better than normal cookware, though I think the small size may help. I have ither smalls. But I'm not anti-one use, if its a good use. BTW, I think if you're a college student using a waffle maker with waffle only (no grill plates) to make different things, you must have a high tolerance for crud. I once made waffles with parm in the batter, and just getting that back to clean was a nightmare. But students sometimes have fluid relationships with hygiene. ;)

Someone gave me a clay pot for roasting a head of garlic many (at least 25) years ago, and I have never used it. I tend to roast garlic on the BBQ when I do roast it.

I think I have quite a few one-use gadgets - appliances. I have separate juicers for orange, lemon, and lime, and I use all of them. We also have a soda maker, which only makes carbonated water. I have a French crêpe pan that I use only for making crêpes, but then I do that fairly often as well. I only have one waffle iron. Kevin recently got a free ice machine that does nothing but make ice, and that comes in handy for the days when the refrigerator ice machine decides to take a break for a few days before it will start working again. If I had a waffle cone maker, I would use it, but I don't.

Another post altogether for useless kitchen gadgets accumulated...lol. I keep coming across a clay disk, lovely, made well...for pressing down a spatchcocked chicken in a pan...and into the oven. Not at all heavy enough. A smaller cast iron on top of a larger cast iron works so well.

Stupid electric panini press I took into work and it gets good use there. Again, I just use a heavy pan on top of any pan when making grilled cheese or panini...rare I do that so I have what I need without an appliance.

Fresh filtered water spout at the sink, soda stream for seltzer...priceless. no cans, bottles. No plastics. Fresh fruit in seltzer, my soda.

Waffle maker is a necessity. Even three. Gave mine away to friends with young children. We just don't make waffles much. (once a year1?).. I use a cast iron baby...tricky but makes super crispy thin ones.

It "makes" wine? *Shudder*

Does it make wine? I thought it made mixed drinks.

It might be kind of fun at parties.

So I just looked it up and though it states that it makes both beer and wine, I haven't yet found a mention anything about the wine or beer's quality.

I did find this review from last year - he was not super impressed:

https://www.engadget.com/2018/11/13/drinkworks-home-bar-is-a-literal-keurig-for-cocktails/

And the expensive wastefulness and artificiality is a turn off to me as well. Why pay so much for an inferior result?

Exactly, Carol.

It issues wine, beer and cocktails by adding chilled water and CO2 if needed (all this work the craft beer guys put into developing a rich natural head, chilling to the exact right temperature to keep out egregious foam, having a perfectly clean and chilled beer glass... And they make beer concentrate and add water and gas. UGH!!! An imperfectly chilled can of Heineken is easy to produce with a trip to the supermarket and a bucket of ice. We don't expect most people to install high tech draft systems in their homes. These hard to find and expensive pods? Absurd! Unless, as John said, you're taking it into outer space. 'Course, that's assuming current tech, and with current tech, you really shouldn't consume alcohol...

Here's their current list of drinks. It only has "sangria" and spritzer for "wine", which is fruit punch rather than real wine, and more likely to be palatable than what I'd read before. I can't find that info today. I don't know how they do beer flights, but maybe they just have four different versions in one canister. Doesn't fix the eewness of it.

CLASSIC

CosmopolitanWhite Russian, Cuban Daiquiri, Old Fashioned,Whiskey Sour, Long Island Iced Tea, Margarita, Mojito, Moscow Mule

PARADISE

Mai Tai, Margarita, Strawberry Margarita

SIMPLY REFRESHING

Vodka Soda with Lime, Gin & Tonic, Whiskey Cola, Vodka Lemonade

WANDERING VINE

Red Sangria, Peach Sangria, Rosé Spritzer, Lemon Bubbly

BREWS

Stella Artois Cidre, Beck's Classic Flights, British Classic Flights