Check out the sustainable bars in Hong Kong shaping the bar world of tomorrow

Penicillin is the city’s first sustainable bar, employing a closed-loop production model with locally sourced or upcycled food and drink ingredients. The bar features a fermentation room and regularly hosts public master classes about their production processes. It also partners with Ecospirits, the world's first closed-loop spirits technology, to eliminate single-use glass bottles. With the ultimate mission to become Hong Kong’s first ‘scrap-less’ bar, the team pours creativity into recycling and upcycling waste, while simultaneously brewing, fermenting, growing, and reusing cocktail ingredients. Notably, other sustainable efforts are seen in their decorations, particularly their tabletops made using wood from fallen debris after typhoons, as well as the bar lights, which are reused neon signs from closed local shops. The bar also converts waste alcohol and lemon peels into soaps and hand sanitisers. Even used kitchen order tickets find new life as part of the bottle label displays.

As the name suggests, this omakase-style cocktail bar decked out in white tiles strives to minimise its negative ecological, humanistic, and community impact through an array of thoughtful initiatives. On top of using techniques like fermentation and dehydration to process leftovers, the bar sources produce from a certified organic local farm and has even started to grow its own produce. Mostly Harmless takes a unique approach to crafting cocktails by minimising its reliance on citrus and sugar. It repurposes spent citrus and turns them into a vinegar-based cleaner for daily operational use. Mostly Harmless also continues to evaluate its sustainable practices every month with external advisors.

Taiwanese bar Draft Land’s first overseas branch – also Hong Kong’s first bar offering cocktails on tap – is the brainchild of Taiwanese mixologist Angus Zou and Quinary’s founder Antonio Lai. With a focus on sustainability, speed, quality, and craftsmanship, the bar adopts an innovative approach to reduce disposable packaging and food wastage. Draft Land serves pre-batched and garnish-free cocktails from its own local factory, which are then delivered in reusable kegs along with other bar supplies to reduce its carbon footprint. Small details matter too – Draft Land uses reusable coasters made with diatomaceous earth which are not only durable but also absorb excess liquids, reducing the reliance on disposable paper wipes.

Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s hidden bar, PDT, designs its cocktail menu with a commitment to minimise waste and maximise sustainability, including utilising ingredients across multiple cocktails to reduce waste. The bar collaborates with Ecospirits, leveraging the groundbreaking Ecototes technology to minimise carbon emissions during transportation. In addition to repurposing kitchen surplus, such as bacon, through fat-washing techniques to create new drinks, PDT works with a local handcrafted chocolate brand for garnishing and infuses locally brewed tea into its creative cocktails.