Mexico City's Casi Casi bar makes its debut in China during the 2nd SIP Cocktail Festival by Pernod Ricard in Shanghai in September. HE QI/CHINA DAILY

Long queues snaked outside the booth of Guangzhou's Hope & Sesame speakeasy-style cocktail bar at Shanghai West Bund Art Center in late August. Founder Bastien Ciocca wiped down his shaker and reached for a pot of slow-brewed winter melon tea base — the heart of his signature cocktail, a drink that weaves traditional Chinese herbal tea culture into classic mixology. Over three days, nearly 2,000 servings were poured, attracting even visiting international bartenders who pushed through the crowd for a taste of the No 1 bar in Asia.

Produced by Pernod Ricard, the 2nd SIP Cocktail Festival took place Aug 28-30 and brought together more than 40 pioneering bars from across the globe. More than a cross-border showcase of flavors, the industry event stands as a vivid case study of the business momentum and industrial upgrading of China's cocktail sector.

A bartender mixes cocktails during the 2nd SIP Cocktail Festival by Pernod Ricard in Shanghai in September. CHINA DAILY

China debut

London's A Bar with Shapes for a Name made its first foray into the Chinese market at the festival. Founder and bartender Maria Kontorravdis said the team brought their signature Pastel cocktail, made with small-batch raspberry eau-de-vie produced exclusively in the United Kingdom. "It takes 90 kilograms of raspberries to make one liter. We wanted to bring our most exclusive flavor to Chinese consumers," she said.

The limited-edition tipple proved far more popular than expected, selling out within half a day of the festival's opening. "This is our first time in China and our first time at the SIP Cocktail Festival. Being in Shanghai means a lot," Kontorravdis said, adding that Chinese consumers' reception of high-end, niche spirits had exceeded the team's expectations.

Lucio Damiano, co-founder and bartender of Mexico City's Casi Casi bar, also expressed surprise at the vibrant energy on-site. "Long-haul travel usually hits you with bad jet lag, but the energy here is so strong that I feel completely alive," he said. In his view, Shanghai has firmly earned its place in the top tier of global bar destinations. "I don't think it's about potential anymore, it's already fully blossomed."Behind the bustling consumer demand is a fast-expanding market. According to Meituan's 2025 bar guide, bar transaction orders nationwide rose 49 percent year-on-year in 2025, with craft cocktail bars among the fastest-growing segments. A mid-year estimate from Boyan Consulting's 2026 report on market dynamics and industry outlook for China's cocktail bar industry puts China's on-premise cocktail market at 9.67 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) in 2026, up 13 percent year-on-year, as consumers shift from bottled ready-to-drink products to experiential, social on-site experiences.

People enjoy shots during the 2nd SIP Cocktail Festival by Pernod Ricard in Shanghai in September. The festival brought together more than 40 pioneering bars from across the globe. CHINA DAILY

Going global

Among the impressive line-up at the festival, Guangzhou's Hope &Sesame bar emerged as the event's most iconic homegrown name.

When Ciocca opened his first Hope & Sesame bar in Guangzhou 10 years ago, most domestic cocktail bars simply replicated classic Western drink menus. "At first everyone was copying foreign recipes and styles, but we wanted to do something different," he said. Ciocca believes China's rich culinary heritage can nurture its own distinct cocktail identity. His team turned to familiar Cantonese staples — winter melon tea, Cantonese sweet soups and seasonal Lingnan fruits such as longan and lychee — reimagining them with Western mixology techniques to bottle the flavor memory of Chinese drinks into every glass.

The viral winter melon cocktail embodies this philosophy. Built on traditionally brewed winter melon tea and layered with balanced spirits, it retains the mellow sweetness of Chinese herbal drinks while delivering the structured flavor profile of a premium cocktail. Hope& Sesame claimed the top spot in the 2026 Asia's 50 Best Bars ranking at the awards ceremony in Macao on July 28.

Today, the brand that started in a small Guangzhou alley runs five domestic outlets across Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, and Chengdu, Sichuan province, and is set to open its first overseas location in Melbourne, Australia. "I've been in China for 13 years. When we first opened our bar, almost no top European or Asian bars came to China," said Ciocca, who has witnessed the industry grow from its infancy. "Now bars from so many places come to Shanghai. It makes me very happy."

Rising professionalism

The market's growth is underpinned by a steady rise in practitioners' professionalism.

"Cocktails are still a relatively new thing in China, but Shanghai has always been the first city with so many great bars," Ciocca said. "Now people travel to many countries to learn mixology. The professionalism is night and day compared to five or 10 years ago."

This progress has also won recognition from international peers. Kontorravdis noted that more and more Chinese bartenders are standing out and winning awards at global competitions. "It's not just about mixing skills, but also personal charisma. The return of the bartender's individual personality is something we find very appealing," she said.

As a high-value segment of the nighttime economy, the evolution of the cocktail market serves as a microcosm of China's consumption upgrade. The transformation of the cocktail sector mirrors the vitality of China's consumer market and the resilience of its industrial upgrading.

heqi@chinadaily.com.cn