IBA Tiki
The IBA Tiki is the newest and most elaborate drink on the official list: nine ingredients, two rums, three sweetened modifiers and a slice of fresh ginger muddled in the base. It is a competition cocktail in origin and it reads like one, which is not a criticism — every one of those ingredients is doing something, and the drink is considerably more balanced than the list suggests. Two Havana Club expressions split the base thirty and thirty, one deep and one smoky. Amaretto and Frangelico supply nut and roundness in fifteen and five millilitres respectively, five drops of maraschino sit underneath them, and passion fruit, pineapple and lime handle the fruit and the acid. It is a long drink built to be sipped over pebble ice, and the ginger is what keeps nine ingredients from collapsing into fruit punch.
Glassware: Tiki Mug
Garnish: Pineapple Wedge a dehydrated pineapple slice at the rim and Lime Wheel with fresh citrus alongside it
Ingredients
30ml
The deep half of the split base: an aged Cuban rum bringing body and dried fruit underneath everything else. Any aged Spanish-style rum with real weight will stand in, and the drink needs that weight to carry nine ingredients.
30ml
The other half, and unusual for Cuban rum in carrying genuine smoke. That smoke sits under the ginger and against the amaretto, and if you cannot find it, a heavier pot-still rum gets closer than a second bottle of the first.
15ml
Almond and marzipan, and the larger of the two nut liqueurs. It meets the smoky rum directly and gives the drink a sweet, aromatic middle that the fruit alone would not supply.
5ml
Five millilitres, which is a bar spoon and deliberately small. Hazelnut behind vanilla and cocoa, filling the gap between the amaretto and the fruit rather than contributing a flavour you could name. At a jigger it would turn the drink into dessert.
5 drops
Drops rather than millilitres, because maraschino is among the most assertive liqueurs behind any bar. Dry cherry and almond sitting underneath the nut liqueurs, present without ever being identifiable.
30ml
Sharp, tropical and acidic as well as sweet, so it works partly as a second citrus. Purée rather than juice: the body matters in a long drink over pebble ice, where a thin juice simply disappears into the dilution.
90ml
The largest measure in the drink and the thing that makes it long. Fresh matters more here than anywhere: tinned juice is cooked and flat, and at ninety millilitres there is nowhere at all for that to hide.
30ml
Squeezed to order and a full measure, because it is the only acid against three sweetened modifiers and two fruit juices. Cut it short and the whole drink tips into punch within a sip.
1 thin slice
Muddled in the shaker before anything else. It is the only ingredient pulling against the sweetness, and there is no substitute: ginger syrup adds sugar to a drink that has plenty and ground ginger tastes of dust.
Instructions
Muddle a thin slice of fresh ginger firmly in the base of a shaker.
Squeeze the lime and pineapple juice immediately before building the drink.
Add both rums, the amaretto, Frangelico, maraschino, passion fruit purée, pineapple juice and lime juice.
Shake vigorously with ice for 12 to 15 seconds.
Strain into a chilled tiki mug filled with pebble ice.
Garnish with a dehydrated pineapple slice and fresh citrus.
Source: the IBA (Official IBA specification). Last checked 13 August 2026.
Expert Tip
Muddle the ginger properly and muddle it first. Two or three firm presses in the empty shaker ruptures the cells and releases the gingerol that gives the drink its sharpness; grinding it extracts bitterness from the skin instead. It is the only ingredient here pulling against the sweetness, and a version built without it is pleasant, sweet and completely forgettable. Respect the small measures. Five millilitres of Frangelico and five drops of maraschino look like rounding errors beside ninety millilitres of pineapple juice, and both are audible in the finished drink. Poured by eye they become the loudest things in the glass. Use pebble ice and strain into it. The muddled ginger and the passion fruit seeds belong in the tin rather than in the straw.
Flavour Profile
The Nine-Ingredient Problem
Long ingredient lists are the standing accusation against tiki, and they are usually deserved.
What separates a good one from a bad one is whether each ingredient occupies a distinct register. Here the two rums cover depth and smoke, the amaretto covers nut, the Frangelico rounds the gap between the nut and the fruit, the maraschino adds a dry cherry note underneath, the passion fruit and pineapple cover tropical sweetness at different intensities, the lime supplies all the acid, and the ginger cuts through the lot. Nothing is duplicated.
The test is whether removing something is noticed. In this drink, everything is — which is the difference between complexity and clutter.
The Ginger
A single thin slice, muddled in the shaker before anything else goes in, and it is the most important ten seconds of the build.
Muddling ruptures the cells and releases gingerol, the compound responsible for its heat and its sharpness. In a glass carrying passion fruit purée, pineapple juice and two nut liqueurs, that sharpness is the only thing pulling in the opposite direction — without it the drink is pleasant, sweet and forgettable. Press it firmly two or three times rather than grinding it, which extracts bitterness from the skin.
There is no substitute that works. Ginger syrup adds sugar to a drink that has plenty, and ground ginger tastes of dust.
Two Rums, Two Jobs
The specification names two Havana Club expressions and the principle generalises to whatever is on your shelf.
One is a deep, rich aged Cuban rum, bringing body and dried fruit; the other is smoky, which is unusual in Cuban rum and supplies a note that sits under the ginger and against the amaretto. If you cannot find those specific bottles, an aged Cuban or Spanish-style rum for the first and something with genuine smoke or a heavier pot-still character for the second will produce a recognisable drink.
What matters is that they differ. Two of the same rum at 60ml makes a flatter cocktail than either would suggest.
How to Serve It
Shaken vigorously and strained into a chilled tiki mug packed with pebble ice, garnished with citrus and a dehydrated pineapple slice.
Pebble ice rather than cubes: it packs, it keeps the drink cold from top to bottom, and it dilutes at the rate a drink this concentrated needs. Strain rather than pouring unstrained, because the muddled ginger and the passion fruit seeds are better left in the tin than delivered through a straw.
The garnish is doing real work in a tiki drink. Aroma arrives before the first sip, and a dehydrated pineapple slice and fresh citrus at the rim frame everything underneath. Tiki's reputation for excessive garnish is earned, and the underlying principle is sound: in a long drink taken through a straw, what the nose meets first sets up everything the palate does afterwards.
The Spirit
Aged RumAged rum is rum that has been matured in wooden casks, most commonly oak, for a period of time, developing greater depth, smoothness, and complexity than unaged styles. Ageing introduces notes of vanilla, caramel, spice, and dried fruit, making aged rum suitable for both sipping and structured cocktails.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the IBA Tiki?
The newest and most elaborate drink on the official list: two Havana Club rums split 30/30, with amaretto, Frangelico, maraschino, passion fruit purée, pineapple and lime, over a slice of muddled fresh ginger. Served long over pebble ice.
Can I substitute the Havana Club rums?
Yes, as long as they differ from each other. An aged Spanish-style rum with real body covers the first, and something with genuine smoke or a heavier pot-still character covers the second. Two of the same rum makes a noticeably flatter drink.
Why is there ginger in it?
Because it is the only ingredient pulling against the sweetness. With three sweetened modifiers and two fruit juices in the glass, the muddled ginger supplies the sharpness that keeps the drink from collapsing into punch. There is no good substitute.
Do the small measures really matter?
Yes. Five millilitres of Frangelico and five drops of maraschino sound negligible against ninety of pineapple juice, and both are clearly present in the finished drink. Poured by eye rather than measured, they become the loudest things in it.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits
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