Tequila, Kahlúa, and Ginger Ale Combination: AI-Made Cocktail Beats Human Recipe

Can a cocktail recipe generated by artificial intelligence (AI) receive a higher rating than a recipe made directly by a human? In a video released on August 12, 2026, on the channel "Introduction to Alcoholic Beverages - Interesting Stories Behind Drinks," an experiment was conducted to rank the taste of four cocktails, respectively created by three types of AI—ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok—and a participant.

Four cocktail recipes composed of random ingredients

This experiment was conducted by randomly selecting one type of base, two types of liqueurs, and two types of beverages. The selected ingredients were the base Tequila, the liqueurs Kahlúa and Huhaengteuro, and the beverages lime juice and ginger ale. 45ml of Tequila was used in all recipes, and the following four cocktails were made according to each combination.

The first is ChatGPT's recipe, a cocktail made by mixing 45ml of Tequila, 15ml of Kahlúa, and 20ml of lime juice. The second is a recipe made directly by the participant, using 45ml of Tequila, 30ml of Huhaengteuro, and 15ml of lime juice. The third is the recipe from the AI 'Grok', combining 45ml of Tequila, 15ml of Huhaengteuro, and 120ml of ginger ale. The final fourth is Gemini's recipe, using 45ml of Tequila, 20ml of Kahlúa, and 60–70ml of ginger ale.

AI 'Grok's combination takes 1st place, human recipe records 2nd

The taste ranking for the four cocktails produced was determined based on the tasting results. The highest-rated 1st place was the third cocktail suggested by the AI 'Grok'. This combination, which blended the orange scent of Huhaengteuro with ginger ale, showed the best aroma and taste, receiving evaluations as a "cheat key combination."

Following this, the second cocktail made directly by the participant took 2nd place. It showed characteristics of being dry with little sweetness from the Huhaengteuro. 3rd place was the fourth cocktail made by Gemini, which received reactions that the mixture of Kahlúa and ginger ale tasted like 'Ssanghwa-tang' or 'red ginseng,' which are familiar to Koreans. On the other hand, the first cocktail made by ChatGPT was selected as 4th place, showing characteristics of a red ginseng taste.

As a result of the experiment, it was revealed that one of the recipes suggested by AI surpassed the human recipe, and in particular, the AI's combination that maximized the scent of specific ingredients received high scores.