Muddled and built

• Lime1, in small wedges
• White sugaror 20 ml sugar syrup4 tsp
• Cachaça60 ml

GarnishLime wedge, if you like

IBA linkThe Contemporary Classics

Pronounced ky-pee-REEN-ya. Muddle the lime and sugar first, then add ice and the cachaça. A caipiroska is the same drink with vodka, which is what most places outside Brazil actually pour. Either kind of fruit makes it a flavoured one: a fruit syrup goes in instead of the sugar, or fresh fruit is muddled in on top of it and its juice does the extra dilution.

• Lime wedges4
• Mint leaves, torn6 good ones
• White sugaror 15 ml sugar syrup2 bar spoons
• White rum60 ml
• SodaoptionalTop

GarnishLime wedge and a sprig of mint

IBA linkThe Contemporary Classics

Press the mint, do not grind it. Fill with crushed ice, add the rum, then stir up from the bottom to lift the mint through. The IBA now replaces the muddled lime wedges with 20 ml of juice and 45 ml of rum; this is the older build, and the one this chapter is organised around.

• Gin50 ml
• Tonic150 ml

GarnishLime wedge, or whatever suits the gin

FamilyHighball · Spirit + a non-alcoholic lengthener

The most poured drink there is, and the ratio is the whole argument: 1 : 3 is standard and a gin worth tasting wants 1 : 2. Garnish to the botanical rather than reaching for lime every time - a kawakawa gin takes citrus peel, a floral one takes cucumber.

• Campari30 ml
• Sweet red vermouth30 ml
• SodaTop

GarnishOrange slice

FamilyHighball · Spirit + a non-alcoholic lengthener

IBA linkThe Unforgettables

Swap the soda for gin and it is a Negroni, which makes this the Negroni's parent and the cheapest demonstration in the book that a family is a structure. Low enough in alcohol to drink before dinner, which is what it is for.

• Vodka45 ml
• Ginger beer120 ml
• Lime juice10 ml

GarnishLime wedge

FamilyHighball · Spirit + a non-alcoholic lengthener

IBA linkThe Contemporary Classics

The copper is not decoration. It frosts on the outside the way the julep tin does, and that is most of the serve - see the glassware chapter.

• White rum50 ml
• Cola120 ml
• Lime juice10 ml

GarnishLime wedge

FamilyHighball · Spirit + a non-alcoholic lengthener

IBA linkThe Contemporary Classics

A rum and coke with the lime squeezed in rather than perched on the rim. That is the whole difference, and it is the difference between a mixer and a named drink.

• Dark rumor Gosling's Black Seal, strictly60 ml
• Ginger beer100 ml
• Lime juice10 ml

GarnishLime wedge

FamilyHighball · Spirit + a non-alcoholic lengthener

Ginger beer first, then the rum poured over the back of a spoon so it sits dark on top - the layering is what the name is about. Gosling's hold the name as a trademark and specify their own rum in it, so strictly anything else is a dark rum and ginger beer.

• Vodka40 ml
• Peach schnapps20 ml
• Cranberry juice40 ml
• Orange juice40 ml

GarnishOrange slice

IBA linkThe Contemporary Classics

Off my own notes rather than the printed page.

• Vodka45 ml
• Tomato juice90 ml
• Lemon juice15 ml
• TabascoTo taste
• Worcestershire sauce2 dash
• Celery salt and pepperor SaltTo taste

GarnishCelery, lemon, whatever else is going

IBA linkThe Contemporary Classics

Ask whether they want ice. Without it, a rocks glass. Stirred rather than shaken, so the tomato juice is not whipped to a froth.

• Sugar cubeor 10 ml sugar syrup1
• Angostura bitters2 dash
• Cognacor Brandy10 ml
• Champagneor Prosecco90 ml

GarnishOrange zest, or a cherry

FamilyOld Fashioned · Spirit + sugar + bitters

IBA linkThe Contemporary Classics

An Old Fashioned where the water arrives carbonated: spirit, sugar and bitters, lengthened with wine instead of ice. Soak the cube, add the cognac, then pour the champagne/prosecco gently down the side so it does not foam over.