Thirty-two of the world’s top bars and restaurants from the UK, Hong Kong, China, Canada and Australia will be pairing up and swapping signature cocktails over the next couple of months as the D1 International Cocktail Exchange returns for a second year.
Thanks to luxury British spirits company, D1 London Spirits, discerning cocktail lovers across the globe will be able to experience an authentic taste of global lifestyle, with a range of bespoke and luxurious cocktails, made with either award-winning D1 London Gin or D1 Potato Vodka.
Each bar and restaurant in the elite exchange has collaborated with a like-minded international venue to share techniques, knowledge and passion to produce a truly authentic array of cocktails.
Partner bars will serve a signature cocktail created by their ‘twinned’ venue that features D1 Potato Vodka or D1 London Gin as a base spirit, enabling guests to sample the taste, ambience and lifestyle experience of its associated bar.
The D1 International Cocktail Exchange includes signature cocktails from renowned destination bars in Australia, Canada and southeast Asia, such as Atmosphere – located on the 80th floor of the China World Summit wing of the Shangri-La Hotel in Beijing. This stunning bar offers dramatic views over the cityscape and brings to the International Cocktail Exchange the Triple Green – a gin-based cocktail with an emerald glow, which will also be served at Melbourne’s Lily Blacks in Australia.
And of course, the International Cocktail Exchange wouldn’t be the same without bespoke offerings from some of London’s finest cocktail bars. These include Flemings in Mayfair, where guests can sample Chinese partner Hope & Sesame’s Journey to the East – with its caramel and lavender flavours – and The Athenaeum, which will be serving The Artisian Solo, designed by The Langham in Hong Kong, featuring Chinese wine and osmanthus.
Each venue is a pioneer in its own field, with a reputation for being amongst the very best, with internationally crafted cocktails lovingly created by some of the word’s finest mixologists.
D1 London Spirits has also created keepsake cocktail cards featuring the signature cocktail from each venue’s partner bar, detailing the character of that venue and the cocktail recipe, meaning bar goers can know that someone on the other side of the world is drinking that very same cocktail and build a collection of all 32 cards.
D1 founder, Dominic Limbrey, comments: “At D1 London Spirits we have a passion for design, arts and culture. We introduced the D1 International Cocktail Exchange to help bring a new way for cocktail connoisseurs across the globe to enjoy international craft cocktails. It’s about exploring and understanding the nuances and character of different places and very local flavours, which can be found in the carefully curated cocktails served with an element of theatre in these hand-picked world-class bars.
“We are facilitating a project where we partner up different venues with huge character and personalities, allowing guests the opportunity to experience something international in a local context. The project will also give mixologists from across the world the chance to take inspiration from each other, using luxury spirits like D1 London Gin & Vodka as the base – ultimately helping pioneer and push the boundaries of craft cocktail-making.”
Other exceptional craft cocktails include The Midnight Gimlet with an interesting combination of spiced lime cordial, absinthe and coffee liqueur created by Melbourne’s late night cocktail bar, House of Correction. And from the understated luxury and unique fine dining of Bibo in Hong Kong, comes De Chilex – an exciting combination of ginseng-infused D1 London Gin, homemade lemon and grapefruit shrub along with rock candy lemon syrup and chamomile tea.