Editorial partner
The International Bartenders’ Association stands at the crossroads of exchange between new and established generations of professionals.
The International Bartenders Association is the world's largest international organization representing professional bartenders, famously known for standardizing recipes for the world's most popular mixed drinks. Founded on February 24, 1951, at the Grand Hotel in Torquay, UK, it is currently registered as a non-profit society in Singapore and spans across more than 60 member nations.
Discover articles, guides, and educational pieces created in collaboration with International Bartenders Association.
Partnership
Morning light reaches the front room first. At Tayēr + Elementary, that matters. Doors open early, coffee is poured, and the pace feels closer to a neighbourhood café than a late-night cocktail destination. By the time evening settles over London, the same address reveals a second rhythm behind it. The space shifts, the drinks change, […]
August 8, 2026
Partnership
Balance is one of the central ideas in bartending, yet it is rarely experienced as a single flavour or technique. It is recognised through the way a drink holds together: strength does not suppress aroma, sweetness does not obscure acidity, bitterness remains purposeful, and water gives the ingredients room to unfold. For the bartender, balance […]
August 6, 2026
Partnership
Dilution begins as soon as ice and liquid exchange heat, but its importance extends far beyond the simple addition of water. It changes alcoholic strength, temperature, aroma, sweetness, bitterness and texture, helping separate ingredients become a coherent drink. Because the process is usually invisible, it can be mistaken for a side effect of chilling. In […]
August 4, 2026
Bartender of The Week
In Tallinn, the story of cocktails doesn’t begin with glamour. It begins with systems. After Estonia, from where Erik Tammeleht comes, regained independence in the early 1990s, the hospitality industry had to reorganise quickly. Training replaced tradition, and professional standards became the backbone of the craft, largely shaped by the Estonian Bartenders Association. In this […]
August 3, 2026
Partnership
Some bars are defined by their drinks. Others by their atmosphere. At Connaught Bar, it is service that holds everything together. Tucked within The Connaught in London, the bar has, over time, established itself as a reference point for what modern classic bartending can look like when precision and ritual are treated as inseparable. This […]
August 1, 2026
Partnership
By the time Gohar Gasparyan stepped onto the World Cocktail Championship stage in 2022, Armenia was not expected to win. Not because of a lack of talent, but because the country’s cocktail culture was still finding its footing. Unlike established markets, where bartending is shaped by decades of accumulated technique, Armenia’s scene was newer, more […]
July 27, 2026
Partnership
A pastrami sandwich shop is not where most people expect to find one of the world’s most influential cocktail bars. Yet behind the unassuming façade of Pastrami Bar, a discreet doorway opens into Paradiso, a space that has redefined how cocktails can be experienced. In Barcelona, where innovation in hospitality has become part of the […]
July 25, 2026
Partnership
Craft in bartending is sometimes presented as a recent movement, but the habits it describes are much older than the modern language surrounding them. Careful preparation, command of tools, responsible handling of ingredients and consistency during service have long distinguished serious bar work. Craft is therefore best understood not as a fashion or visual style, […]
July 21, 2026
Partnership
In Havana, the environment Alex Sánchez came up in, cocktails are not rediscovered. They are remembered. Walk into El Floridita or La Bodeguita del Medio and you’re not entering a bar in the usual sense; you’re stepping into a system that has barely changed. The Daiquiri still follows its line. The Mojito still holds its […]
July 20, 2026
Partnership
Walk into Sips and the first thing that becomes apparent is the absence of the expected. There is no traditional bar counter acting as a barrier, no hierarchy between bartender and guest. Instead, the room opens up, almost like a stage, where drinks are assembled in full view and the act of making a cocktail […]
July 18, 2026
Partnership
Aperitivo as Bartending Practice Aperitivo occupies a fundamental place in the history and professional practice of bartending. More than a drink served before dinner, it represents a cultural ritual connecting gastronomy, hospitality and cocktail craftsmanship. For the bartender, aperitivo service prepares the palate, establishes the atmosphere of the bar and sets the pace for the […]
July 15, 2026
Partnership
In Buenos Aires, bartending is rarely quiet. Service moves fast, conversations overlap, and the energy of the room shapes every interaction. For Román Granitto, this environment was not a challenge to manage but a system to understand. Control, in this context, is learned through movement rather than imposed on it. His early development came through […]
July 13, 2026
Partnership
There is a certain stillness inside Handshake Speakeasy that feels almost out of place in Mexico City. Not silence, but control. While much of the city’s bar scene thrives on energy and movement, Handshake operates with a different tempo, one built around precision, repetition, and a refusal to leave anything to chance. That approach has […]
July 11, 2026
Partnership
In 1980s London, as the city’s cocktail culture began to re-emerge after decades of decline, a new style of drink appeared that would quietly redefine how fruit could function in a modern cocktail. The Bramble, created in 1984 by Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in Soho, was not conceived as a reinterpretation of a classic, […]
July 9, 2026
Barlist
In a city that rarely slows down, Bar Leone opened in Hong Kong in 2023 with a notably different rhythm. There was no attempt to compete through spectacle or technical theatre. Instead, the bar established itself through clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, and a deeply human understanding of what a bar should feel like. Within […]
July 4, 2026
Cocktail of The Week
During the 1920s, under the restrictions of Prohibition, American drinkers and bartenders became used to cocktails that corrected, softened, or disguised rough spirits. Among them, the Bee’s Knees stands out for one reason: it did not disappear when better spirits returned. Instead, it moved beyond its Prohibition association, becoming one of the clearest demonstrations of […]
July 2, 2026
Cocktails
The first months of 2026 have not produced a single defining new cocktail in the traditional sense. Instead, what is emerging is quieter but more revealing. New cocktails in 2026 are appearing through repositioning rather than invention. Existing formats are placed into new settings, familiar structures are adjusted, and ingredients are introduced in ways that […]
May 28, 2026
Meet the writers and experts who co-created content with International Bartenders Association on Barlist.
Renowned international hospitality consultant, founder of Barpartners, and IBA Vice President of Classic Mixology, bringing over 25 years of luxury hotel bar operations.
