A cocktail library without the Equipment needed field is the one you abandon at fifteen recipes because you can't remember whether the Aviation requires a shaker or a mixing glass, and you're too proud to look it up again in front of guests.
The answer is a shaker — but the point is that the reference should exist and be accessible in the three seconds before your guests arrive.
What a Serious Library Contains
The Ingredients field comes pre-populated with 47 options covering the range from gin, vodka, bourbon, tequila, and white/golden/red rum through liqueurs (Cointreau, Kahlua, Galliano, Grand Marnier, Creme de fraises, Peach schnapps, Blue curacao), vermouths (Martini bianco), bitters (Angostura), fresh elements (mint, strawberries, banana, coconut), juices, and garnishes. The multichoice format means filtering by ingredient works: you have 750ml of Pernod left from Christmas and you want to know every recipe that uses it before it evaporates.
Equipment needed — Cocktail glass, Lowball glass, Shaker, Pourer, Measure, Martini glass — tells you before you start whether your current glassware situation supports the recipe. A Martini glass requirement and a Lowball glass requirement are different service decisions, particularly when you're set up for ten people.
The Rating and Comments fields are the fields that transform this from a recipe file into a working knowledge base. A Negroni rated 4 stars with a comment noting "use orange bitters instead of Angostura, much better balance, tried this November 2024" is more useful than any published recipe. The cocktail you've modified and improved is the one worth documenting.
Photo captures the finished drink. Three months later when you're trying to remember what the Clover Club looked like before you garnished it — and whether the layer separation was deliberate or a technique problem — the photo is the reference.