What's New?
New features and improvements.
Running GPT 5.6 Terra for recommendations and Gemini 2.5 Pro for photo lookups right now. We move to better models as they ship, so this changes from time to time.
August 2026
Barcode Scanning Works Again
Scanning a barcode had stopped finding anything at all. The site we look barcodes up on had started blocking us, and the app sat there for nearly 30 seconds before giving up. Fixed, and it now answers in about a third of the time.
Photo Scanning Fixed
Snapping a label could come back with "could not identify the bottle" on a perfectly clear photo. It had actually read the label correctly and then run out of room to reply. Fixed.
Real Online Prices, With a Link
Where we can find a listing for your exact bottle, the online price is now that retailer's real price with a link, so you can check it yourself. Before, it was our own estimate. If we cannot confirm a listing, we say so rather than guess.
Fairer Verdicts
Three fixes to how your price is judged. A high shelf price in an expensive state no longer counts as fair on its own. The price you type no longer nudges our view of what the bottle is worth, because we work out its value first and judge your price against it afterwards. And when we do not know a bottle's MSRP we now show that, instead of quietly filling the gap with the market price.
Not Just Whiskey
Tequila, mezcal, rum, gin, vodka, cognac, wine and champagne now get the same quality of answer as bourbon, and they show up in search suggestions too. Typing "tequila" or "prosecco" used to return nothing.
Faster AI Model Updates
The AI behind recommendations and photo lookups is now switched centrally. When a better model arrives, the website and both apps pick it up the same day, with nothing to download.
May 2026
Support & Feedback, Front and Center
Support is now a top-level link in the main navigation on the web — and the iOS app has a built-in support / feedback option too, so you can reach out without leaving the app.
April 2026
Stripe Tip Jar
Replaced Ko-fi with a native Stripe Checkout tip flow. Faster, simpler, and keeps you on-site when you send a dram.
Faster Page Loads
Homepage split into a Server Component, barcode-scanning libraries are now lazy-loaded, and the logo ships as WebP (605KB → 70KB). Everything feels snappier.
Better Dark Mode Contrast
Placeholder text and the zip code input were hard to read in dark mode. Fixed.
SEO & Discoverability
Sitewide schema markup, security headers (HSTS, X-Frame-Options), IndexNow for instant Bing & Yandex updates, and an expanded llms.txt so AI assistants can answer questions about the site accurately.
March 2026
iOS App Launch
Should I Buy This Bottle? is now available as a free app on the App Store. Get the full native experience — search, scan barcodes, and get AI recommendations right from your iPhone.
Support Page
New contact form at /support with Cloudflare Turnstile captcha protection. Linked from the main page footer.
Updated Branding & Navigation
New tagline — "AI-powered search with real-time market pricing." Changelog renamed to What's New? for a friendlier feel.
Modern App Redesign
Completely redesigned UI with a clean, mobile-app aesthetic — borderless inputs, frosted-glass sticky header, iOS-style segmented controls, and press-feedback interactions. New site icon and Manrope typeface.
Buy Me a Dram
Added a Ko-fi tip button in the header and on the results page. If a recommendation saves you money, consider buying the developer a dram!
February 2026
Average Online Pricing
Live secondary market pricing from Wine-Searcher and Unicorn Auctions now shown alongside MSRP and market estimates.
January 2026
Dark Mode
Choose between light, dark, or system theme with the new theme selector in the header.
Faster Barcode Scanning
Parallel decoding delivers results as soon as the first scanner succeeds — no more waiting for both.
December 2025
Smarter AI Recommendations
Upgraded to GPT-5.2 for recommendations that weigh price, rarity, and your location. UPC identification now uses web search via Tavily.
Barcode Scanning
Scan barcodes with your phone camera or enter a UPC manually to look up any bottle.
November 2025
Launch
AI-powered whiskey and bourbon price guide with search by name. Compare MSRP and market prices, get instant buy or pass recommendations.