Native-only Spirits Bars: Ultra-local Drinking

Noticed on my last trip to Asia: bars like Kinsman in Hong Kong (pictured), SanYou in Shenzhen and Shanghai, Zest in Seoul, Native in Singapore and Chan Shifang in Taipei are laser-focusing their menus on only the spirits from their own countries, and cocktails (often also with ultra-local ingredients) they inspire. Here’s my dispatch for Barleycorn Drinks.

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Author: Charlene Rooke

Charlene Rooke is a Canadian drinks journalist, consultant and educator as well as a travel, food, business and lifestyle writer. She is a WSET Spirits Educator Certified in Spirits and WSET Certified in Wine, an SWE Certified Specialist of Spirits, an SMWS educator and an artisan distiller trained at Moonshine University in Louisville, KY. She is the lead judge of the Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition and an expert on Canadian small-batch spirits who leads distillery tours and guides spirits tastings in Vancouver, Canada. A former editor at many Canadian publications and former creative lead at three content agencies, she is currently the Drinks Editor for Food & Drink, the in-store magazine of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.