Best Sips is a look-back on the most incredible drinks — alcoholic or otherwise — we had in the past week. Those which renewed our love for established venues; caught our attention at a new opening; or freshly impressed upon us the creativity and skill of Hong Kong’s talented bartenders and mixologists alike. From tipples at charming dive bars to award-winning apéritifs at five-star establishments, these are the best drinks to try in Hong Kong; the drinks we’d recommend you make a special trip for.
Dead&
The drink: “Bong Bong” CBD Tequila Soda (HK$50)
A local company by the name of Four-Twenty has been canning Hong Kong’s first ready-to-drink CBD cocktails over the past year, including a “Higher Ball” whisky soda, a “Magic Acid” vodka soda and their “OGT” gin and tonic. And last month, in collaboration with Wo On Lane’s Dead&, they quietly released this little number — the “Bong Bong” canned CBD tequila soda, featuring 20mg of calming (and yes, mom, legal) cannabidiol to help take the edge off after a long week. Available in Dead&’s back-of-bar, Octopus-friendly vending machines, it’s sweet, strong and blessed with my favourite of the clear spirits, tequila. Everyone I’ve had it with loves it, but if you’re looking for something a little less on the sweet side, ask Jake at the bar for his take on the classic tequila soda — one of the coldest in the city. — Nathan Erickson, Editor-in-Chief
Dead&, Lan Kwai Fong, 18 Wo On Lane, Central, Hong Kong, +852 9886 5711
Artemis & Apollo
The drink: Peloponnese (HK$118)
Now this is what I’d call a dangerous drink. The Peloponnese — named after the southernmost peninsula in Greece — is, first of all, a pink drink. With a sprig of mint speared at the rim. Which, really, in my head anyways, translates to somewhere warm; somewhere sunny. Somewhere I can dig my toes into soft, sun-warmed sand. Somewhere someone I love will remind me to reapply sunscreen. Somewhere I won’t, anyway, because I’m very lazy and would rather lie down, close my eyes and drift. Probably Mykonos or Santorini, if we’re keeping with Artemis & Apollo’s Grecian-paradise theme. But I digress.
The Peloponnese is a concoction of rum, ouzo (a dry anise-flavoured aperitif that’s, apparently, very Greek), soda water, watermelon and honey. It’s lightly fruity, lightly sweet; just a very mild drink that’s a perfect complement to all the salt we had after. Go for the Pork Souvlaki and Calamari like we did. — Joey Wong, Editor
Artemis & Apollo, G/F, 9-11 Moon Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, +852 2818 8681
Chachawan
The drink: Pineapple Smash (HK$68)
My best sip this week is not exactly one of extravagance. No table-side theatrics. No time-limited exclusive. It’s just a sweet simple sip hidden amongst an attractive menu of catchier names and fancier garnished tipples. But at least it’s reliable; the kind I’m sure you’ll end up reaching back for after making the usual rounds around the cocktail list.
Chachawan’s Pineapple Smash is exactly what its bright, summer-loving name implies. It’s a fruit juice blended with what I’ve christened as the Classic Tropics Trio: fresh pineapple, passion fruit and orange juice. Lightened up by a squeeze, rub and dunk of the accompanying mint garnish, it’s especially satisfying and delicious. Evocative of a holiday under the sun. Especially on a rainy day like today. –– Lorria Sahmet, Editor
Chachawan, 206 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, +852 2549 0020
LPM Restaurant & Bar
The drink: Pablo (HK$120)
This devilish cocktail will only be available from 11 October — but you heard it here first. LPM’s global new drinks list is a series that celebrates the life of influential French artist, writer and bon-vivant, Jean Cocteau. Each chapter in the new menu features a different faction of Cocteau’s very colourful life. In this particular chapter, Pablo is a concoction that honours Cocteau’s friendship with, you guessed it, Pablo Picasso. Talk about friends in high places! This gimlet-inspired tipple has dashings of tarragon and orange and mint cordial, but wait — the best part is the visual evolution of the drink. Words wouldn’t do it justice, so you’ll just have to taste, and see, for yourselves. — Sandra Kwong, Features Editor
LPM Restaurant & Bar, H Queen’s, 23-29 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2887 1113
Joey Wong
Editor
Retired Tumblr girl Joey has written her way through fashion trends, youth culture and luxury retail in New York and Hong Kong. Beyond internet adventures tracking down the perfect vintage find, you can probably catch her tufting rugs, swigging back Bloody Marys — her third, probably — and making fastidious spreadsheets about her Animal Crossing island.
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