About BarShelf

Our Story

BarShelf was born from a simple frustration. As a whisky and spirits enthusiast, I — Kohyun Lim, a solo developer based in Korea — couldn't find an app that truly did justice to my collection. I'd spend evenings exploring single malts, discovering local craft distilleries, and carefully selecting bottles on trips abroad, only to come home and realize I had no good way to remember what I'd tasted or what was sitting on my shelf. Every bottle carries a memory: a gift from a friend, a souvenir from a trip to Scotland, a special find at a tiny shop in Tokyo. I wanted something that honored those stories, not just another inventory list.

So I built BarShelf — alone, from scratch, writing every line of code myself. What started as a weekend side project in my Seoul apartment quickly grew into something much bigger. I taught myself mobile development, studied what made great apps feel great, and obsessively refined every pixel. Every feature — from the beautiful shelf UI with draggable fill levels to the AI Bartender that crafts cocktails from your actual inventory — was designed with one question in mind: "Would I love using this?" The answer had to be yes before anything shipped. No venture capital, no big team — just one developer's passion for spirits and code.

Today, BarShelf focuses on the problem that started it: giving bottle records, pours, tasting notes, and finished-bottle history a clear place to live. The app brings those records together with cocktail ideas based on the bottles you own, so you can decide what to open, remember what you tried, and keep your shelf current. BarShelf is available in 8 languages.

Our Mission

To help spirit enthusiasts curate and cherish their collection. "Cherishing" means more than just knowing what you own. It means remembering the nose of that peated Islay you opened on New Year's Eve. It means tracking how your palate has evolved from sweet bourbons to complex sherried single malts. It means having a beautiful digital record of the bottle your father gave you on your birthday — long after it's been emptied and the label has faded. Whether you have three bottles or three hundred, every one deserves to be remembered. BarShelf is the companion that turns your home bar from a shelf of bottles into a library of experiences.

What We Believe

We believe your collection is personal, and your app should respect that. BarShelf is designed to keep bottle details, fill levels, tasting notes, pour history, and finished-bottle records together in one place. We favor clear, useful features that help you record what you own, decide what to pour, or find a cocktail idea from your shelf. BarShelf is built by a solo developer in Korea for that everyday home-bar use.

BarShelf in Numbers

Get in Touch

Have feedback, a feature request, or just want to say hello? I'd love to hear from you. BarShelf is built by a real person who reads every single message.