App vs spreadsheet

Drambook vs a whiskey spreadsheet: when to switch, and when not to

comparison/alternative · Last reviewed July 2026

A fair comparison of Drambook and spreadsheets for tracking whiskey collections, tasting notes, photos, pours, and exports.

A spreadsheet is still good for raw control. Drambook is better when you want structured bottle records, photos, tasting notes, and pour history on iPhone.

Adult-use boundary: Drambook is for adults of legal drinking age. It does not sell alcohol, facilitate alcohol purchases, appraise bottles, or provide investment, medical, or legal alcohol advice.

Spreadsheets win at total flexibility

If you want arbitrary formulas, custom dashboards, web editing, and bulk transformations, a spreadsheet is hard to beat. Keep it if that is your primary workflow.

Drambook wins at field consistency

A bottle form nudges you to keep proof, ABV, mash bill, batch, store pick, purchase date, notes, and photos in the same shape every time. That structure is boring in the best way.

Photos are where spreadsheets get awkward

Spreadsheet photo workflows usually become links, embedded images, or folder paths. Drambook attaches label photos to the bottle record locally.

Export is the bridge

The right answer is not “never use spreadsheets.” Drambook’s CSV import and export exist because spreadsheets are still the lingua franca of collection records.

Decision rule

Stay with a spreadsheet if you need web access or deep formulas. Use Drambook if your main job is private iPhone collection tracking with tasting notes and pours.

Where Drambook fits

Use Drambook when the job is private whiskey and bourbon collection tracking on iPhone: bottle records, tasting notes, pours, label photos, CSV/PDF import and export, and no account. Do not use it for alcohol sales, bottle appraisal, resale planning, cloud sync, Android, or web access.

Download on App Store
Free · iOS 17+

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