First established in Taipei by Angus Zou, Draft Land arrived in Hong Kong in 2018 when Antonio Lai partnered with Zou to launch what has since become the city’s gold standard for exceptional draft-only mixology. With three buzzing locations in SoHo, Causeway Bay and BaseHall, it’s packed most nights of the week.
Draft Land frequently updates its expansive menu – 20 items each at SoHo and Causeway Bay – but few cocktails have endured and captured the concept’s essence quite like the Guk Bou. While the Oolong Tea Collins is the bar’s bestselling drink, the Guk Bou stands out for highlighting the chrysanthemum puer tea blend – more commonly enjoyed alongside dim sum and certainly not usually mixed with alcohol.
“The drink actually has its origins in a slightly different drink from Ori-gin [Tastings Group’s former gin-focused bar] called Herbal Remedy,” says Alex Ko, Tastings Group’s beverage development manager. “Though that drink originally used English Breakfast tea, it was inspired by the old-school tea combination at dim sum restaurants,” he explains.
Ko adds that the cocktail was developed to highlight the fact that chrysanthemum pairs well with woody angelica and liquorice, which were used in the gin base.
