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Google just learned how to mix cocktails

Google just learned how to mix cocktails

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Google announced a new addition to its Knowledge Graph this morning, adding cards that walk through the recipes for various cocktails. The cards break down the "main alcohol" for each cocktail alongside standard garnishes and recommended glassware. Recipes for food ("how to make meatloaf") have been part of the Knowledge Graph for some time, but engineers noticed a lot of requests for cocktails specifically, and Search data gave them a clear ranking of which cocktails users were most curious about. For 2015, the Moscow Mule topped the list of most-searched cocktails, followed by the Margarita and the Bloody Mary.

Launched in 2012, Google's Knowledge Graph has been adding cards to Google searches continuously for nearly three years now, including data on obscure topics like animal lifespan and the height of various public figures. The data is largely pulled from publicly available sources like Wikipedia, vetted for accuracy and added to Google's central graph, where it's accessible both from browser-based searches and mobile apps. In a test this October, Google was able to answer 88 percent of sample questions, compared with 53 percent for Siri and 40 percent for Microsoft's Cortana.