The ABV Project | Southeast Asia cocktail scene

Your window into Southeast Asia’s cocktail culture.

Exploring the region’s cocktail scene through its people, passions, and places.

How to Make a Hojicha Sour by Chong Hau from The Nest (Penang)

For Chong Hau of The Nest Cocktail Bar in Penang, his signature Hojicha Sour is only half the experience. Inspired by a love of smoky hojicha, the cocktail balances roasted tea notes with bright yuzu, but it's served alongside a piece of grilled tatami iwashi (Japanese whitebait). The savory bite transforms the drink, bringing out the smoky depth of the hojicha while making the citrus notes pop. It's a reminder that sometimes, the perfect cocktail pairing isn't another drink.

Cedric Mendoza on Chasing Titles in the Bar Industry (Manila)

Jason Yee on How Bartending Wrecks the Body (KL)

Jimmy Nguyen on the Function of Working Flair (VN)

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Recipes

Bottle Basics

Classic Low-Alcohol Cocktails for Those Lighter Nights

The Daiquiri: Three Ingredients, One Impossible Standard

All About Shochu: How I Learned to Stop Calling It “Japanese Vodka”

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Editorial

Can You Call Yourself a Bartender If You Can’t Make a Daiquiri?

You sit down at a modern cocktail bar and ask for a Daiquiri, Manhattan or Old Fashioned. But instead of making it, the bartender asks what you like, then proposes something from the signature menu — or creates a custom drink by asking: “What kind of flavors do you like?” That isn't necessarily bad. But there's a difference between choosing not to make a classic and not knowing how to make one. This raises an increasingly interesting question for the modern cocktail industry:

Classic Low-Alcohol Cocktails for Those Lighter Nights

Not every night calls for a Martini (avg ABV 29%), Manhattan (avg ABV 26%) or Negroni (avg ABV 21%). Sometimes you want a proper cocktail — something stirred, chilled, aromatic, and complex — without committing to a heavy pour of spirits. That is where low-ABV cocktails come in. Long before “sessionable” became a buzzword, bartenders were mixing sherry, vermouth, amaro, sparkling wine, and fortified wines into drinks that delivered plenty of flavor without the alcohol punch o

What a Barfly Looks For When They Travel

You land in a new city, drop your bags at the hotel and, naturally, open Google Maps. “Cocktail bar.” There are 137 results. There are rooftop bars, hotel lounges, nightclubs, restaurants with cocktail menus, “speakeasies” hidden behind unmarked doors, and places whose five-star reviews seem to be mostly about the music, the lighting, and the attractive people behind the bar. So, what makes a traveling drinker choose a bar over the dozens of others on the map? First, they'll

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Book Review

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[Recipe] Latik by Mark De Leon of Run Rabbit Run (Manila)

Can You Call Yourself a Bartender If You Can’t Make a Daiquiri?

Cedric Mendoza on Chasing Titles in the Bar Industry (Manila)

Classic Low-Alcohol Cocktails for Those Lighter Nights

How to Make a Hojicha Sour by Chong Hau from The Nest (Penang)

Cedric Mendoza on Chasing Titles in the Bar Industry (Manila)

Jason Yee on How Bartending Wrecks the Body (KL)

Jimmy Nguyen on the Function of Working Flair (VN)

[Recipe] Latik by Mark De Leon of Run Rabbit Run (Manila)

[Recipe] Tokyo Banana by Alaimie Pangan of Matador (Manila)

[Recipe] Amelie from France by Lance Tabilin of Bar Flora (Manila)

[Recipe] Mango Hojicha by Gavin Teverasan of Bar Middle (Singapore)

Classic Low-Alcohol Cocktails for Those Lighter Nights

The Daiquiri: Three Ingredients, One Impossible Standard

All About Shochu: How I Learned to Stop Calling It “Japanese Vodka”

Can You Call Yourself a Bartender If You Can’t Make a Daiquiri?

Classic Low-Alcohol Cocktails for Those Lighter Nights

What a Barfly Looks For When They Travel

What To Drink, by Bertha E. L. Stockbridge

The Gentleman's Companion, by Charles H Baker Jr

Liquid Intelligence, by Dave Arnold