HK’s Penicillin Wins Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2021

The Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2021 at Asia’s 50 Best Bars went to Penicillin in Hong Kong. Penicillin is the brainchild of seasoned industry heavyweights Agung Prabowo and Roman Ghale (founders of The Old Man Hong Kong, winner of The Best Bar in Asia 2019) and their wives Laura Prabowo and Katy Ghale, respectively.

“Penicillin is the first sustainable bar here in Hong Kong,” shares Prabowo. “We are introducing the closed-loop cycle system. And we have four champion elements to do so, which is the laboratory, main bar, the kitchen, and fermentation room. With these four elements, we are able to do recycling and upcycling at the same time.”

The Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award selects a bar in Asia that is committed and dedicated to sustainability, sourcing of ethical ingredients, and to the community. Food Made Global, which is 50 Best’s sustainability partner for eight years now, does the independent audit and determines the winner by using an evidence-based system specifically designed for 50 Best that was adapted to reflect the effect of the pandemic on bar service.

Penicillin recycles and upcycles ingredients, but still continues to find new ways of minimizing waste, reducing the bar’s carbon footprint, and sourcing produce locally and seasonally. Among their sustainability efforts are: using recycled plaster for ceramics, making hand sanitizer from leftover ingredients and redistilled vodka, sourcing wood salvaged from trees felled by typhoons for tables, and creating bottle labels from scraps. Penicillin’s founders estimate that the bar is currently operating at 80% sustainability, while continuing to find new ways to improve their process and practices to set a new model for the industry.

The bar partnered up with EcoSpirits — the world’s first innovative closed-loop distribution technology that tries to eliminate packaging waste in the premium spirits supply chain — to come up with the cocktail One Penicillin, One Tree. For every drink sold, Penicillin donates USD$ 3.00 to The Forest Programme, which plants native Mallotus Muticus trees in Borneo. These fast-growing upper canopy trees reach up to 42 meters in height and live for over 200 years. One Mallotus Muticus tree can eliminate an impressive 4,400kg of CO2, equivalent to the carbon footprint of about 8,000 single-use glass spirit bottles in its lifespan.

“Just be mindful and get to know the real meaning of sustainability,” Prabowo advices the bartending community. “Because sustainability is a big thing here in the world as well as our industry. Sometimes a big idea makes a big difference, and that makes us help the world.”

The Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award is the last of the pre-announced special awards before Asia’s 50 Best Bars list for 2021 is revealed on May 6 at 6:00 pm. This will be preceded by the inaugural 51-100 list, on April 29. There will also be a series of three bartender discussions entitled “Breaking The Ice” before the final countdown scheduled for May 2–4.

Watch the announcement of Asia’s 50 Best Bars for 2021 on May 6 at 6:00 pm via The World’s 50 Best Bars Facebook page and 50 Best Bars TV YouTube channel.

Images from Penicillin’s Facebook page.