DarkSide appears to have brought the best elements of both sides of the harbour together. The insulated atmosphere of Hong Kong speakeasies like 001 meets the space and comfort of bars like Aqua Spirit in the art deco-inspired form of low lights, plush chairs, velvet drapes, and large windows, and a stage with a live band playing easy listening music.

The food and drink menus are brimming with possibilities, such as barrel-aged port or cognac, a large selection of premium spirits such as whiskey, Madeira, and Armagnac, and classics with a twist (Martini vs Vesper). It also includes the No Rules cocktail, which is a reference to the lawless and legally independent Kowloon Walled City and combines gin, mango, cypress, and lanolin and is wonderfully refreshing. The mango complements the gin wonderfully as a substitute for lime or lemon, despite the fact that the fruit is nearly too sweet in the drink. The 40 Square Feet is inspired by the rum-based Negroni, with plum, bitter chocolate, and ambergris added to Campari, bitters, dark rum, and sweet vermouth. The bold, bittersweet elements from the chocolate, plum and Campari come through first, while the rum plays a passive role in what is otherwise an extremely balanced drink. The venue even boasts its own Rosewood-branded pilsner and IPA, as well as decadent bar snacks, including an elevated version of the egg tart and the Bikini Sandwich, which is comprised of Parisian ham, Emmental cheese and black truffle.

Detailed Information:
Address: Rosewood Hong Kong Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Phone Number: +852 3891 8732
Website: https://www.darkside.hk/
Open hours: Thur-Sun: 17:00–22:00

Four Seasons Hotel's new innovative bar Argo, which is the latest project from Four Season's beverage manager and Time Out's 2020 Bartender of the Year, Lorenzo Antinori, just docked in Hong Kong, and it's here to challenge the way you think about drinks. Compared to Caprice bar, located on the sixth floor of the hotel, which has a more formal setting and focuses on seasonal ingredients, Argo is more relaxed and highlights innovative spirits and offers a cocktail menu with ingredients at risk of becoming endangered in the future.

The 'Here Today, Gone Tomorrow' menu honors six fundamental ingredients: coffee, honey, rice, cacao, vanilla, and apples, all of which face an uncertain future due to climate change or the way they are grown. Spirit connoisseurs can discover new bottles in 50ml shots, tasting flights, or as a classic cocktail using the bar's spirit bible, 'Field Guide to the World's Innovative Spirits,' which highlights each bottle's unique story and provenance. The world's first AI-created gin, Monker's Gaukel, lab-made whisky Glyph, Argo's very own unique gin manufactured with Never Never Distilling Co, and other odd spirits that break away from standard production are among the interesting bottlings. The menu also includes the Single Origin Negroni, a well rounded Negroni with subtle chocolate flavours, aged in cocoa pods from Malaysia, and Argo Martini, served two ways: citrus or savoury, made with the bar's signature gin and it's not shaken or stirred but topped with seasonal hydrosols, also known as 'flower waters,' produced by distilling fresh ingredients like herbs and fruits with water.

Detailed Information:
Address: 8 Finance St, Central, Hong Kong
Phone Number: +852 3196 8882
View detail: https://bit.ly/3Ktbbvd
Open hours: Mon-Sat: 07:00–10:30, 12:00–14:30, 17:00–00:00, Sun: 07:00–10:30, 12:00–14:30

Mizunara: The Library is located on the fourth level of an unidentified Wan Chai commercial building and is led by 'bartender-in-chief' Masahiko Endo. Endo has been winning bartending competitions since 2008, dressed immaculately in a white dinner jacket and bow tie. The Fukuoka native is in charge of a lovely place that has the appearance of a modern members' club, with dark wood, crisp lines, and sombre upholstery. Mizunara's cocktails are consistently great. Though the trademark cocktails are on the pricey side, you won't get identical beverages anywhere else in town, and the quality is evident from the first sip.

There are almost 600 whiskies available, including an excellent selection of Japanese distilleries as well as lesser-known bottles from India and Taiwan, such as the Smokey Manhattan, one of several cocktails Endo has invented exclusively for Mizunara. The Laphroaig-rinsed glass lends a strong campfire flavor that is perfectly offset by a sharp fruity edge leaking off the skewered cherry in this fantastic Maker's Mark-based twist on the original. Endo's decision to utilize Canadian Club 12 Year whisky instead of cognac or rye whisky may irritate purists, but the ultimate result is far from underwhelming. Perhaps it's the aniseed flavor that comes to the fore, making this an especially robust rendition of the classic.

Detailed Information:
Address: 4/F, Kiu Yin Commercial Building, 361-363 Lockhart Rd, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Phone Number: +852 3571 9797
Website: https://www.mizunarathelibrary.com/
Open hours: Mon-Sat: 18:00 - 03:00

Penicillin bar opened in November 2020, taking up 1,520sq ft of space of the former Buddha Lounge on Hollywood Road. The bar, named after the modern classic cocktail, Penicillin (made with honey, lemon, ginger, a strong dose of Scotch, and a splash of smoky Islay whisky), and the antibiotic from which the cocktail got its name, creates drinks with an eco-friendly twist that will not only cure any cocktail fix but hopefully the bar industry's sustainability quandaries. The facility, which includes a lab, bar, kitchen, and fermentation area, focuses on recycling and upcycling items that would otherwise wind up in the trash. From upcycling potato peels into bar snacks, recycling paper and leftover ingredients into handmade bottle labels, and utilising local ingredients to help conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions created by the import industry, the bar has been creatively thinking of new ways to reduce its carbon footprint.

The One Penicillin, One Tree cocktail project plants one native Mallotus Muticus tree (commonly known as the swamp tree) in Borneo's Kalimantan rainforest. Each One Penicillin, One Tree drink (the ingredients and offers will change seasonally) saves an average of 150g of CO2. Penicillin aspires to motivate more people and businesses to become more environmentally sensitive and to do more for future generations.

Detailed Information:
Address: Amber Lodge, L/G, 23 Hollywood Rd, Central, Hong Kong
Phone Number: +852 9880 7995
Website: https://penicillinbar.com/
Open hours: Mon-Fri: 16:00–02:00, Sat: 12:00–02:00, Sun: 12:00–00:00

Quinary, decked out like an immaculate factory, with concrete floors, retro-bulb lighting and meshed gates, aims to offer cocktails based on an experience that can touch all five senses. The industrial-designed space, with a long, glowing bar, takes a modernist approach, with drinks engineered to stimulate the senses, using technology like rotovap distillation and centrifuges.

The latest menu is inspired by food markets in Hong Kong and elsewhere. The Earl Grey Martini is a pleasant drink composed of vodka, elderflower syrup, apple juice, Cointreau, lemon, lime, and Earl Grey caviar for texture before being topped with froth, invented by Diageo World Class 2015 Hong Kong and Macau Champion Antonio Lai. It's a visually stunning Lai specialty and one of the menu's most popular cocktails. Quinary, which ranks 16th on the list of Asia's 50 Best Bars, also has a rotary evaporator and other mixology equipment to redistill and slow-cook their own flavoured spirits.

Detailed Information:
Address: 56, 58 Hollywood Rd, Central, Hong Kong
Phone Number: +852 2851 3223
Website: https://www.quinary.hk/
Open hours: Mon-Sun: 14:00–22:00