A widely recognised pioneer in promoting agave spirits in Asia, COA serves creative cocktails that are sophisticated, with minimal garnish—letting the bright flavours speak for themselves. The industrially decorated bar is consistently full every night thanks to a concise but deeply loved menu of approachable cocktails. The drinks are tasty, but more importantly, they manage to educate guests on a drinking culture from halfway around the world, hooking many drinkers on the qualities of agave-based spirits since the bar opened its doors in 2017. Last year, COA expanded its footprint by opening an outpost in Shanghai.

If you're in Wan Chai, a nightcap at Mizunara is a must. The intimate bar area, stacked with no less than 800 whisky bottles, is dwarfed by the Zen garden on the terrace outside, making little sense commercially but lending the venue a quixotic and thoroughly charming atmosphere. A sizeable selection of classic cocktails and seasonal Japanese specials are offered by head barman Masahiko Endo, to be enjoyed while pondering serene scenery outside.

With a foot firmly in the future, the flagship bar of the Four Seasons Hong Kong offers thoughtful, precise cocktails, a stunning list of groundbreaking spirits sourced from around the world, and an awe-inspiring interior. The driving force behind this highly successful operation is Federico Balzarini, whose penchant for meme-worthy cocktail drinking lends the serious menu a certain thematic levity—including popularising the gummy bear as a symbol of tongue-in-cheek mixology. With a new menu focusing on local pantry ingredients, this is a veritable lab for the exploration of capital-M mixology.

This outpost of an Osaka-based bar attracts a loyal following for delicately crafted cocktails by head bartender Nick Tse and wife Ayako Miyake. The bar provides an intimate space for anyone to experience the magic of Japanese mixology, while serving as a training ground for bartenders looking to learn the ritualistic ways of the Japanese cocktail bar.

Bar Leone is the kind of place anyone would be happy to have in their neighbourhood. The vibe is inviting and unpretentious, and the food and drinks are delicious. Don't skip the mortadella sandwich. 

Owner Lorenzo Antinori was formerly beverage manager at the Four Seasons Hong Kong, but left the prestigious post to open something closer to his home and heart—Bar Leone is inspired by local watering holes in his old neighbourhood of Trastevere in Rome, with a mahogany bar, burnt orange banquettes and vintage memorabilia. 

Named as a homage to Kowloon’s moniker, Darkside feels little like an extension of Rosewood Hong Kong, with a character all of its own. While signature cocktails are updated roughly every year, classic cocktails such as the martini, Sidecar, and Jungle Bird are mainstays that you’ll want to come back for. DarkSide recently introduced its Yin and Yang menu, featuring eight cocktails which play on the ancient Chinese philosophy of these opposing yet interconnected forces.

The live band makes Darkside a place to linger rather than to stop by for just one or two drinks.

Featuring closed loop production and a penchant for experimentation, Penicillin is certainly Hong Kong’s most innovative in terms of sustainable mixology, with passionate staff who are always eager to educate. The bar has also dedicated itself to shining a light on the environmental impact of your average cocktail: its signature cocktail, the One Penicillin One Tree, changes with the seasons but always provides a climate-positive way to imbibe. If the highly technical cocktails ever confuse, the bar staff are always friendly and eager to educate.

At this discreet, white-tiled bar, you never know what you’re going to get thanks to a menu that changes every few days, using the freshest, most in-season produce from local farms in Hong Kong. Accomplished bartender Ezra Star is the mind behind the recipes, but you won't find her waxing on about the intricate processes that go into each drink—instead, the spotlight is on the starring fruits and vegetables harvested from the city's backyard.

001 remains firmly established with drinkers who crave a little ambience with their preferred 5pm sharpener. Behind the famous unmarked black door, mixologists craft a tightly edited shortlist of signatures—most of which tread in the footsteps of influential recipes from the canon of American cocktails. Lighter libations of note include the Earl Grey Marteani while classics such as the Rob Roy attest to 001’s reputation for working with underrated spirits.

Over a decade old and still going strong, it’s no exaggeration to describe this bar as a stalwart of the Hong Kong scene, with a signature cocktail, the Earl Grey Caviar Martini, that is a modern classic in its own right. The rest of the menu is equally worthwhile, spanning house signatures, classic cocktails with a twist, and seasonal themed cocktails, each requiring a laboratory’s worth of equipment to produce. Collaborations come fast and frequently at this bar, with each month bringing a new spirit brand and time-limited cocktails.

Featuring a programme of innovative cocktails inspired by Ernest Hemingway that are continuously being refined and reworked, this bar serves big, unusual flavours that are best suited to those with an open mind. Enhanced using techniques such as fat-washing, infusions and cold fermentation, the unusual ingredients include clarified banana ghee, snail tequila, bread wine and uni gin, topped off with garnishes like a citrus cloud or a ball of steel wool that’s set alight to startling effect.

Helmed by one of the youngest founders in the business, Ajit Gurung, alongside Jay Khan of COA, this intimate bar is defining the category of savoury cocktails in innovative fashion, along with non-alcoholic cocktails that match their spirited counterparts in concept and execution.

4 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong; thesavoryproject.com

This hotel bar is a perfect escape from the city, thanks to an art deco-inspired design that blends St Regis’ New York charm with Hong Kong iconography. Similarly, the cocktail list is extensive, creative and delicious, paying homage to the history of Hong Kong’s tramlines and New York’s subway. Lovers of the Bloody Mary will find no less than three versions to enjoy here, each made with different tomato bases, spirits and garnishes.