AI Bartender at CES 2026 Mixes Personalized Cocktails But Struggles With Voice Recognition

I Challenged an AI Bartender to Design Me a Cocktail. I Was Surprised With the Result

The device is unassuming, a simple table with a large tablet resting on top. Behind the surface of the table are rows of bottles -- liquor, flavoring, juice, all the works. Cofounder Alex Snesarev told me that you can create thousands of different drinks. But the true fun of the AI Barman is letting the AI take the wheel -- or, in this case, the cocktail shaker. The process is simple. There's a camera at the top of the tablet, which scans your face. It estimates your age based on your appearance -- it got mine very close, within a year -- and can flag signs of intoxication. If you appear to be well on your way to a hangover, it can make your drinks a bit weaker. You can also select your preferred tastes, including whether you prefer bitter, sour or fruity drinks. The next part is where you can get creative. You speak to the tablet like you would a bartender. I didn't have a specific drink in mind, so I kept my description more general: Fruity, strong and something festive to celebrate being at CES. The AI took my response, analyzed it for approximately 60-75 seconds and came up with a custom drink for me: The Weekend Fiesta Punch. Full of raspberry flavoring, cola and 28 grams of whisky (about one shot of liquor), the drink matched the vibe I had in mind perfectly. The drink was cold and refreshing, popping up from a hidden slot in the table like a sleight-of-hand magic trick. It tasted similar to a Dr. Pepper, with its cola base and fruity notes. But the drink did taste less artificial or processed than popping open a can of soda or seltzer, which was surprising given that the bartender who made it was entirely artificial. I really enjoyed my experience using the AI Barmen. It felt like a unique experience. Snesarev told me the company works with catering companies and special events vendors to bring the devices to people -- AI isn't about to entirely replace your local bar staff. But there is a noticeable lack of human connection when using the AI bartender -- that feeling of walking up to the counter and putting your trust into the person behind the bar to make you something delicious. You do have to put that same trust into AI, and I was pleasantly surprised by the result, but AI isn't human.

This AI Bartender Made Me a Margarita. It's a Fun Novelty, But the Facial-Recognition Tech Needs Some Work

LAS VEGAS -- Could a robot replace human bartenders? At CES, a startup is showing off an AI-powered machine that can create a drink for you. The AI Barmen system doesn't operate like your typical humanoid robot. Instead, it looks more like a kitchen island that features a touch screen to display the various beverages. The AI Barmen doesn't just dispense drinks, though. It's designed to engage in chit-chat like a real bartender, check your age, and monitor whether you're too drunk for another drink using facial-recognition technology. The approach sounds good on paper. But it doesn't mix well with noise. At a crowded CES event here, I tried asking the machine for a drink. But despite repeated attempts, the AI Barmen struggled to hear me due to the surrounding chatter. I also couldn't hear the machine's response. The AI Barmen's facial recognition is also a bit questionable. When I first used it, the machine guessed that I was 26 years old. Then in another try, it thought I was 44. Neither were correct, but it did successfully recognize that I was an adult. The shaky facial recognition leaves us skeptical about the machine's sobriety testing. The website says: "It analyzes your face, how fast you're ordering, and how strong your drinks were. If things start getting too fast, it slows the night down gently -- a softer drink, a suggestion for water, or a switch to zero-proof options. Not to stop the fun -- but to keep you safe." Despite the drawbacks, I could see the appeal in terms of convenience. No need to look through a menu; the AI Barmen's touch screen offers a wide variety of familiar drinks and AI-created concoctions. Once you pick one, the machine will dispense ingredients and mix the drink inside its kitchen island-like interior. The drink will then pop up through a trap door on the surface. I ordered an "AI Golden Margarita," and it was not bad. Sure, the ordering experience and the drink felt a sterile; an experienced mixologist could likely do better. But it was also a fun novelty. The San Francisco startup behind AI Barmen has been leasing the unit for $1,500 per event. The company also plans on offering device through a monthly subscription to appeal to more businesses. To create the drinks, the device is packed with syrups, kegs, and ice to mix and dispense the various beverages. Although the AI Barmen is far from perfect, it might gain traction with curious bar-goers. Its creators are hoping to raise funds to help expand the business. Another plan is to "gamify" the experience, letting users earn points for trying new drinks and receive badges for trying AI Barmen in different locations.

This AI-Powered Drink Machine Slops You Up Some Generative Booze

Listen, CES 2026 is full of AI gadgets, and a lot of them are kind of the same. Some AI gadgets transcribe things; some help you game; some remember your favorite color or whatever. But only one -- one -- to my knowledge can get you drunk. The R1, which caught my eye at CES 2026, is what a company called Breakreal is billing as an "AI bartender," which is probably exactly what you think it is. It's like a Bartesian cocktail machine, but it uses AI to slop up your cocktail with a little AI personalization. With the R1, you can use a companion app to have the device make you a personalized cocktail catered to your mood, or preference of alcohol. You can even tell it to just shut up and make you a good ol' fashioned old-fashioned. Breakreal tells me that the R1 can only process up to 8 different ingredients simultaneously, including syrups, alcohol, soda, and juice. That's not bad, though you'd better hope that those 8 ingredients are things you want to drink all the time; otherwise, I could see this device being a mega pain in the ass. I got a demo of how the machine worked, which involved a representative for Breakreal using the app to type that they were happy to be at CES and to make a drink based on that. You could also use your voice to say that if typing isn't your jam. Once the app creates your drink, you can send the recipe to the machine and watch the R1 do its magic. The drink-making is a bit slow based on the demo that I saw, but Breakreal says it works within 20 to 40 seconds. I'm not entirely sure what the R1 generated, but it did make... something. I didn't much care for drinking out of a public, open-air cup at CES, so I can't tell you how it tasted, but the liquid was there. Some of that liquid was definitely coming out of the arm of the machine and not the nozzle (it was leaking), which felt a little problematic, but maybe it was just all the CES volume... Personally, I don't think bartenders need to sweat for now. Nothing about this experience is cheap, by the way. The R1 will cost $1,099 at early bird pricing and $1,299 MSRP at full price, and that's a lot to pay for an "AI bartender" when you could just, like, go to a real bar, but who am I to tell you how to booze? That'll be one Slop-tini, coming up.

CES 2026: This AI bartender called me old, but it makes one hell of a drink

I love a free drink. I also love the premise of asking an AI to invent a cocktail based on a vague flavor profile and a dream. For the truly rudderless among us, the kind of people who walk up to a bar and say "surprise me" with full confidence, the AI Barmen might be your new best friend. The AI-powered bartender is being showcased at CES 2026, and at first glance, it appears to be yet another piece of liquor-filled kitchen technology. But the pitch is a little more ambitious than that. According to its founders, the AI Barmen is meant to behave like an actual bartender that sees you, talks to you, remembers you, and adjusts accordingly. That starts before you even order a drink. As demonstrated on the CES show floor, the "ritual" for getting served begins with the machine scanning your face and attempting to estimate your age. You don't hand over an ID at first. You just...stare into the camera. The system estimates your age within a broad range, and if it believes you're under 21, it automatically switches into a non-alcoholic mode, offering zero-proof cocktails and juices. For the record, it guessed I was 30. I'm 27. Talking to other attendees, early-to-mid-30s seemed to be the most common range it landed on, which feels flattering until you remember this is a robot trying not to piss people off. It's a neat party trick, though. Once you pass that check, you're prompted to either talk to the AI directly or select from a list of pre-made cocktails. The company says AI Barmen can theoretically generate thousands of drink combinations based on mood, taste preferences, and conversation, but for CES, the menu was limited to tequila- and whiskey-based drinks only. This is where the concept is supposed to shine. AI Barmen is designed for "convo bartending," meaning you can tell it how you're feeling, what kind of night you're having, or what flavors you want, and it will craft a drink while explaining its choices in real-time. It also claims to recognize returning guests, remember preferences, and even slow things down if it thinks you're ordering too quickly, with a built-in sobriety check that will cut you off. In theory, it's thoughtful. In practice, CES is very loud. A recurring theme at tech events like this is that the environments are almost hostile to anything involving voice recognition, and AI Barmen was no exception. Not realizing there was no gin in the machine (rookie mistake), I asked for "a gin base that's sweet but not too sweet." Somewhere, my coworkers at the bar I work at are absolutely laughing at me -- and that's why I'm just a barback. The machine couldn't hear me properly, got confused, reset the flow, and asked for age authentication again. Moments later, a staff member politely asked to see my ID because the system now thought I might be underage. Honestly? Thank you. I'll take the compliment. Despite the hiccups, the AI Barmen did make me a drink -- a Peach Boom, a sweet peachy cocktail with Jack Daniels and grenadine. It was served quickly and tasted good, although a bit diluted for my liking. The company envisions it handling up to 180 drinks a night while also remembering guests across locations. I'm curious to know how the machine will function in environments where it will be loud. But as someone who loves a free drink, vague instructions, and the chaos of a CES demo barely holding together, I have to admit: I was intrigued. Even if the machine did briefly think I was an old fart.