The first time I heard about Bar Leone, it wasn’t through a press release or a flashy social media campaign. It was from my friend Carmel, the founder of Kalsada Coffee. Living in the neighborhood, she told me that Bar Leone had become her singular destination. For someone deeply knowledgeable in the beverage industry, her endorsement carried weight: in Hong Kong, she only drank coffee at home, and for cocktails, she only went downstairs to Bar Leone.

By the time I finally made it to the Bridges Street space, the bar had already claimed the number one spot on Asia’s 50 Best list. It would a few months later claim the same accolade on the global 50 Best list as well. In the industry, a ranking like that usually triggers a specific set of expectations: reservations booked months in advance, hushed tones, and a menu that requires a glossary to navigate. Bar Leone, however, has opted for a different kind of excellence.

With a ludicrously long menu of signature cocktails and wines, Quinary is the kind of bar that you must be coming back to over and over to keep trying something new with each visit. Behind a mesh-style fence at the end of the long bar is a small beverage design laboratory of dehydrators, slow cookers, and rotary evaporators. It’s a subtle flex, as of to say “we ain’t done yet.” Also, a like bit of “we’re pretty frickin’ smart.”

Frankly, the name is a hint right from the start. “Quinary,” is a completely different way of counting. Think “binary,” except in base 5 instead of base 2. It’s technical, it’s thought provoking, and — for those who know how to appreciate it — it’s fun.

This Earl Grey Caviar Martini is a firework display of flavors and textures. The menu describes this drink as “Everything/Fun” because it literally has everything in it. It’s their best selling and an award winning cocktail made with Cointreau, Ketel One Citroen vodka, elderflower syrup, and dosed with a fancy serving of Earl Grey tea caviar. That last ingredient is their take on a molecular gastronomy boba. Finally, the concoction is topped with Earl Grey tea “air,” which basically a foam with the tea aromatics suspended in the bubbles.

There’s is some layering in terms of flavor, but the vodka is very present throughout the cocktail, which may be overpowering and might not be everyone’s cup of tea (pun intended). But what really puts this drink over the top is its highly experiential and visual component of having a big tower of foam that really tastes and smells like Earl Grey. It is celebrated by camera flashes every time one is served and a drinker tries to take that fun first sip from the glass without getting foam on his or her nose.

Tip: drink this with your head tilted back, similarly to how one takes a heady pint of Guinness. The Earl Grey Martini has gained much notoriety in a short period of time that even the The Bar Awards for Hong Kong was compelled to name it drink of the year.

Find Quinary on Hong Kong Island, and follow @quinaryhk on Instagram.

The Old Man in HK calls it “Winner Takes Nothing # 1933,” named for Hemingway’s collection of short stories the originally published in — you guessed it — the year 1933. In fact every drink cocktail on the menu of The Old Man is suffixed with its namesake’s publish date.

what’s in the drink: Rotovap pink guava gin, baby carrot sous-vide suze, tarragon, blackened carrot bug, soda, dill. As usual with this revolutionary bar, the drink tastes non-traditional and not-what-you’d-expect. Sweet, salty, juicy, fizzy… confusing. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s actually the polar opposite. In fact, we’d probably describe it add a pretty perfect second drink for that evening when you want to have three. And if you’re coming to The Old Man, it’s a good idea to have three at the very least.