IBA
Paradise – IBA
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 24.7% ABV ∙
The Paradise is a classic IBA gin sour, shaking London dry gin with apricot brandy liqueur and orange juice, then served up in a cocktail glass. A brisk shake delivers a silky, chilled texture with a juicy orange brightness balancing the liqueur's soft stone-fruit sweetness against a crisp, dry finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 30 mlApricot brandy liqueur 20 mlOrange juice 15 ml
- Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
Tips
- Pre-chill the glass before straining so the drink stays cold through the first sip.
- Measure the apricot brandy liqueur carefully — it is sweeter and more concentrated than the gin, so an over-pour flattens the balance.
- Shake hard for about 10-12 seconds to fully integrate the orange juice and chill the drink before straining.
History
The Paradise cocktail's earliest known printed recipe appeared in 1922 in Harry MacElhone's Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, calling for equal parts dry gin, apricot brandy, and orange juice. The version regarded as canonical today comes from Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book, which reworked the proportions to favor gin with a dash of lemon juice added.
The drink gained wider visibility when it appeared onscreen as the drink shared by the two leads in the 1932 Warner Bros. film One Way Passage. It later became an IBA official cocktail, listed among the organization's recognized recipes. In 2018, rapper Snoop Dogg, whose song "Gin and Juice" is often linked to the drink's gin-and-citrus profile, helped mix a 500-liter batch of the Paradise cocktail in Napa Valley that set a Guinness World Record for the largest version of the drink.
FAQ
What is in a Paradise cocktail?
A Paradise is London dry gin, apricot brandy liqueur, and orange juice, shaken with ice and strained up into a chilled cocktail glass. Gin is the base spirit, with the apricot liqueur giving it a fruity sweetness and the orange juice adding acidity and body.
What is an IBA cocktail?
An IBA cocktail is one of the official recipes recognized by the International Bartenders Association, a global body that maintains a standard list of drinks used for competitions, training, and bartending certification. The Paradise is one of these listed recipes.
