Hong Kong’s first televised cocktail-making competition, set the bar high. Running from June 10 to 21 on ViuTV and featuring 32 participants – from professional bartenders to amateur talent – the series shone a spotlight on Hong Kong’s highly competitive bar scene. One contestant took home the “master mixologist” title following individual contests, group challenges and rank matches in 10 episodes shot over three months, with some scores coming from public votes.
Episodes eight and nine saw the six remaining participants head to Vietnam for contests in which they had to replicate a speciality cocktail from scratch and create a cocktail based on local Vietnamese ingredients. Wong says the judges assessed drinks from different angles: “Antonio [Lai] was more on the technical side, Jay [Khan] was more on improving the flavours and I focused more on the presentation. But of course, we had other [criteria] as well.
” Lai explains that his requirements for a masterful cocktail included “a combination of performance, knowledge, style and experience”, while Khan “wanted to see the bartenders making bold decisions and creating something outside of the norm”, with storytelling being another crucial aspect for him. The competition’s final started with the three remaining contestants – Quinary’s Eartha Sim, The Savory Project’s Cheung Chi-ho, and COA’s Lok Cheung – creating cocktails inspired by “the taste of Hongkongers” and culture. The two surviv.
