SPIRIT OF adventure

In Hong Kong until recently, connoisseurship of spirits was mostly confined to a couple of specialised fields - cognac and Scotch whisky. If people ordered gin, vodka, rum or tequila, they might have expressed a brand preference, but bar patrons were unaware of the profusion of niche products emerging in those spirit categories. All that is changing - and fast.

A great believer in keeping things interesting is Sam Jeveons, bar manager of Cafe Gray Deluxe at the Upper House. He is gradually replacing many familiar names behind his bar with lesser-known premium quality products.

Jeveons says cocktails are becoming a source of competition for many bars. 'People think they are good in a lot of different places, and the way to raise the bar's status is to get better choices of spirit in. What we offer is increasingly high end - notably in the under-served categories of rum and tequila.'

Some of these spirits are from small niche producers; others are supplied by bigger names that have created new tiers of mass market brands to appeal to more discerning drinkers.

'Jose Cuervo Tequila is a global brand, and their gold tequila is nothing special,' says Jeveons. 'But what they have done well is their Reserva de la Familia, which is a gorgeous tequila to be drunk neat, served in a brandy balloon, a real cognacesque sipping tequila which they call a 'super anejo'. I've also bought a bottle of their 250th anniversary bottling. Only 500 were made. That's the most expensive thing on the bar at HK$2,500 per shot, or HK$35,000 for the bottle.

'A lot of people have smelled it, but no one has bought one yet - but both the Reserva de la Familia and the Platino [Jose Cuervo silver tequila] are getting some action. We serve it in snifters and people are astonished. They don't realise that at this level of tequila we are talking cognac and beyond in terms of their complexity.'