Time to tick off some of your global bars wish list as 14 incredible teams takeover the Hong Kong cocktail scene for a succession of 50 Best Signature Sessions.
Host bars in Hong Kong pair up with leading international establishments that share the same ethos and cocktail philosophy to create never-before-seen drinks menus celebrating shared talents.
Sip your way through menus curated by some of the world’s most acclaimed bar teams, including those from Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, Sips in Barcelona, Himkok in Oslo and Speak Low in Shanghai, alongside five iconic Hong Kong venues.
Running from Saturday 13th July to Thursday 18th July, the collaboration events are open to the public, with an open-door policy and no booking required (with the exception of The Aubrey’s intimate omakase table – booking details to follow).
Check out the full line-up of 50 Best Signature Sessions cocktail events:
Darkside x XX x Speak Low
When: Saturday 13th July, from 7pm @ Darkside and 8pm-midnight @ XX
What: Secret Speakeasies
Where: Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsiu
Start the night with libations at the glamorous Darkside bar, which – perhaps unsurprisingly – specialises in all things dark, from drinks to cigars and chocolate, before securing your invite to the inner sanctum of XX, the Rosewood hotel’s hidden drinking den. Inside, you’ll be served a succession of dark-spirited cocktails from Kris Du and Michael Chen of renowned Shanghai speakeasy Speak Low, plus the XX team.
Penicillin x Zest x Himkok
When: Sunday 14th July, afternoon
What: Closed Loop Cocktails
Where: L/G Amber Lodge, 23 Hollywood Road, Central
Settle in for an afternoon session of sustainable cocktail craft from three internationally acclaimed bars, which have environmental consideration at the heart of everything. Hong Kong icon and ‘closed-loop’ bar Penicillin welcomes two pioneers – Seoul’s Zest, headed up by the newly crowned winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award for Asia’s 50 Best Bars, Dohyung ‘Demie’ Kim, and Oslo’s Himkok – into its Hong Kong lab. The three bars create innovative sips with as little waste as possible.
Quinary x SubAstor x Nutmeg & Clove
When: Monday 15th July, 2-5pm
What: Liquid Lunch
Where: 56-58 Hollywood Road, Central
Hosted by Quinary and its multisensory mixologist, Antonio Lai, this tasty Signature Session brings together Lai’s distinctive food-first cocktails with two cocktail companion bars. The Quinary team will be joined by Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove – where Shelley Tai and Colin Chia reinterpret Singaporean flavours into progressive drinks using local ingredients – and São Paulo star bar SubAstor, where bartenders Fabio La Pietra and Alex Alves Sepulchro bring South American flavours to every serve.
Coa x Sips x Handshake Speakeasy
When: Monday 15th July, 3-6pm
What: Tres Números Unos
Where: Shop A, LG/F Wah Shin House, 6-10 Shin Hing Street, Central
Three icons of the bartending world unite for this super special session hosted by Coa, the Hong Kong legend that has taken the No.1 spot three years in a row in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars rankings. Coa’s founder, Jay Khan, invites the crew from Handshake Speakeasy – recently crowned No.1 in North America’s 50 Best Bars – and Simone Caporale from Sips, the dynamic Barcelona bar that scooped the coveted No.1 spot in the 2023 edition of The World’s 50 Best Bars, to join the team behind the stick. Expect plenty of tequila, mezcal and more.
The Aubrey x The Bombay Canteen
When: Thursday 18th July: omakase 5-7pm and izakaya 6-10pm
What: Indian Omakase plus Izakaya
Where: 5 Connaught Road, Central
What else: Devender Seghal, The Aubrey’s beverage manager, is joined by Yash Bhanage, Achintya Pravin Karale and Prantik Haldar from Mumbai’s The Bombay Canteen to create a night of flavour-forward cocktails encapsulating the tastes and native ingredients of India. The evening will be a tale of two halves: the first at The Aubrey’s omakase cocktail table – an intimate, bookable space where guests will sample drinks made by The Aubrey and The Bombay Canteen team – and the second taking place in The Aubrey’s main izakaya-inspired space.
The list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024, sponsored by Perrier, will be announced on Tuesday 16th July live from Hong Kong. To stay up to date with the latest news, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube, and sign up to our newsletter.
