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My own creations - 8 of them - with the full build in millilitres, the method as steps, and a note on why each one is put together the way it is.
Some are riffs on a classic; some started as an idea about one ingredient. Behind the switch, the whole official IBA list, sorted onto the IBA’s own three. The 29 the book writes up carry their spec here; the rest are a name and a link out, since those recipes are theirs. Published as Entre Deux Verres until this site put the two halves together.
Shelf
- Espresso MartiniVodkaNo coffee liqueur, so the bitterness is the espresso's own rather than something poured in after it. Butterscotch and vanilla vodka do the sweetening Kahlúa usually does, which leaves the roast at the front and a toffee edge behind it.Vanilla Vodka, Double Espresso, Butterscotch, Sugar Syrup · 18.95%
- Christmas Rum MuleRumA mule built for a summer Christmas, rather than one borrowed from winter. Spiced rum puts clove and allspice where a mule is usually just vodka, the orange softens the lime, and a hundred millilitres of ginger beer keeps it long enough to drink outside in the sun.Spiced Rum, Lime juice, Orange juice, Ginger beer · 8.77%
- Spiced Apple CrumbleRumA pudding taken apart and rebuilt as a drink. Cloudy apple carries it, vanilla syrup stands in for the custard, cinnamon does the crumble, and the lemon is the only thing stopping it going sickly sweet.Spiced Rum, Cloudy Apple Juice, Vanilla syrup, Lemon juice, Cinnamon · 10.31%
- Ginger CollinsGinA Collins where ginger syrup replaces the sugar, so the heat comes in with it rather than alongside. Raw and peppery next to the drier fizz of a ginger beer, with juniper underneath and soda stretching it out.Gin, Ginger syrup, Lemon juice, Soda Water · 10.29%
- Black Magic MargaritaTequilaA Margarita built on blackcurrant. Cassis goes where the triple sec would, so the sweetening arrives as Ribena rather than orange - the adult version of what every Kiwi kid grew up drinking. Lime holds it tart, and black salt on the rim reads differently against fruit than it does against plain agave.Tequila Blanco, Crème de cassis, Lime juice, Agave Syrup · 19.37%
- Limoncello Spritz HighballLiqueurThree things and no citrus juice at all: the lemon here is all peel, which is why it lands rounder and less sharp than a spritz built on a squeeze. Prosecco dries it back out and soda gives it length.Limoncello, Prosecco, Soda Water · 12.32%
- Peach RoyaleVodkaPeach and lemon over a base that stays quiet. Vodka carries the schnapps without arguing with it, the lemon keeps the peach from turning into lolly water, and champagne gives it a dry, slightly toasty finish that soda would not.Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Lemon juice, Simple Syrup, Champagne · 13.75%
- Filthy MistressMezcalSmoky, dark and quietly floral. The port and the cherry give it the weight of something aged, the Italicus lifts it with bergamot, and the pinch of salt is what stops it reading as a dessert.Mezcal, Tawny Port, Cherry syrup, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, Salt · 18.74%
Mine last pulled 6 September 2026, the IBA list 4 September 2026
Not sure why any of these are put together the way they are? Barbook covers the structures, the ratios and what every bottle is for.