How we work out strength and calories
The IBA recipes list ingredients and amounts but not the finished strength or calories, so these figures are our own estimates.
- Alcohol: for each ingredient, volume times its typical strength (ABV, below). Strengths are typical labelled values, and brands differ.
- Water from ice: we add water equal to 25% of the liquid for shaken drinks, 20% for stirred, 10% for built drinks and 35% for blended. These are rule-of-thumb assumptions, not measured values.
- Final ABV: alcohol volume divided by final volume.
- Standard drinks: alcohol in grams (volume times 0.789 g/ml) divided by 14 g, the US definition.
- Calories: alcohol at 7 calories per gram, plus the sugar and other calories in each ingredient using the approximate values below (per ml), rounded to the nearest 5.
- Small amounts: a splash is taken as 15 ml, a top-up as 60 ml, a dash as 0.8 ml, a bar spoon as 4 ml, a teaspoon as 5 ml, and a sugar cube as 4 g of sugar.
Treat the results as a guide: free-pouring, bigger glasses, sweeter brands or extra juice change them noticeably.
Values used
| Ingredient | ABV | kcal per ml (non-alcohol) |
|---|---|---|
| Overproof rum | 63% | 0 |
| Absinthe | 55% | 0 |
| Green Chartreuse | 55% | 1 |
| Angostura bitters | 44.7% | 0 |
| Mezcal | 42% | 0 |
| Aged and dark rum | 40% | 0 |
| Bourbon | 40% | 0 |
| Bourbon or rye whiskey | 40% | 0 |
| Brandy | 40% | 0 |
| Bénédictine | 40% | 1.3 |
| Cachaça | 40% | 0 |
| Calvados | 40% | 0 |
| Cane spirit (aguardiente) | 40% | 0 |
| Cognac | 40% | 0 |
| Drambuie | 40% | 1.5 |
| Gin | 40% | 0 |
| Grand Marnier | 40% | 1 |
| Grappa | 40% | 0 |
| Irish whiskey | 40% | 0 |
| Pisco | 40% | 0 |
| Rhum agricole | 40% | 0 |
| Rye whiskey | 40% | 0 |
| Scotch whisky | 40% | 0 |
| Tequila | 40% | 0 |
| Vodka | 40% | 0 |
| White rum | 40% | 0 |
| Yellow Chartreuse | 40% | 1.2 |
| Fernet | 39% | 0.2 |
| Cointreau or triple sec | 38% | 1 |
| Amaro Nonino | 35% | 1 |
| Peychaud’s bitters | 35% | 0 |
| Maraschino liqueur | 32% | 1.3 |
| Orange curaçao | 30% | 1.5 |
| Amaretto | 28% | 1.6 |
| Orange bitters | 28% | 0 |
| Apricot brandy | 25% | 1.5 |
| Campari | 25% | 1 |
| Crème de cacao | 25% | 1.5 |
| Crème de menthe | 25% | 1.5 |
| Peach brandy | 25% | 1.5 |
| Cherry brandy | 24% | 1.5 |
| Allspice dram | 22% | 1.2 |
| Coffee liqueur | 20% | 1.5 |
| Crème de cassis | 20% | 1.8 |
| Crème de violette | 20% | 1.5 |
| Frangelico | 20% | 1.5 |
| Peach schnapps | 20% | 1.4 |
| Port | 20% | 0.8 |
| Crème de mûre | 18% | 1.8 |
| Dry vermouth | 17% | 0.1 |
| Lillet Blanc | 17% | 0.3 |
| Passion fruit liqueur | 17% | 1.5 |
| Sherry | 17% | 0.1 |
| Cynar | 16.5% | 0.8 |
| Raspberry liqueur | 16.5% | 1.8 |
| Sweet vermouth | 16% | 0.4 |
| Red wine | 13% | 0.05 |
| Champagne | 12% | 0.05 |
| Dry white wine | 12% | 0.05 |
| Prosecco or sparkling wine | 11.5% | 0.05 |
| Aperol | 11% | 1 |
| Falernum | 11% | 1.2 |
| Agave nectar | 0% | 3 |
| Chamomile cordial | 0% | 1.5 |
| Coconut cream | 0% | 2 |
| Cola | 0% | 0.4 |
| Cranberry juice | 0% | 0.55 |
| Cream | 0% | 3.4 |
| Donn’s mix | 0% | 1 |
| Egg white | 0% | 0.5 |
| Egg yolk | 0% | 3.2 |
| Elderflower cordial | 0% | 1.2 |
| Ginger ale | 0% | 0.35 |
| Ginger beer | 0% | 0.4 |
| Grapefruit juice | 0% | 0.4 |
| Grenadine | 0% | 2.4 |
| Honey syrup | 0% | 2.4 |
| Lemon juice | 0% | 0.25 |
| Lime juice | 0% | 0.25 |
| Orange juice | 0% | 0.45 |
| Orgeat | 0% | 2.4 |
| Passion fruit puree | 0% | 0.5 |
| Passion fruit syrup | 0% | 2 |
| Peach puree | 0% | 0.5 |
| Pineapple juice | 0% | 0.5 |
| Pink grapefruit soda | 0% | 0.4 |
| Raspberry syrup | 0% | 2.4 |
| Simple syrup | 0% | 2 |
| Sugar | 0% | 4 |
| Sugar cane juice | 0% | 0.7 |
| Tomato juice | 0% | 0.2 |
Where the recipes come from
Ingredients and amounts come from the IBA Official Cocktails list (checked 2026-10-16). Method and garnish text is written by us. Short histories are the lead paragraph of the matching Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 and credited on each page.