Leo Ko can now be added to the list of talented Hongkongers the city can be proud of, because he has just won the World Cocktail Championship 2023, an annual competition organised by the International Bartenders Association. He is the first Hongkonger to do so.
The 34-year-old is the beverage manager of the Cordis hotel in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, and head bartender at Alibi, the hotel’s restaurant and bar.
Ko was born and raised in Hong Kong and graduated from the Hong Kong University School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU Space) with a degree in hospitality and tourism management in 2012.
“I went to Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel and Towers for my practical training and I was placed under the tutelage of sommelier Alan Tsui. I was very fortunate because he put a lot of effort into my training,” Ko says.
“Every night he would give me 10 different wines to sniff – only sniff – and I had to tell him the tasting notes by smell only. He was the one who taught me that 70 per cent of what you taste when you eat comes from smell and that the taste buds are only responsible for 30 per cent. All this training early on was very beneficial to my career.”
The World Cocktail Championship 2023 was held over five days from November 28 to December 2 in Rome, Italy, where every facet of Ko’s training was put to the test.
“There was one test where we were given 12 lightly flavoured, colourless [pours of] water in tall, clear glasses. We had one minute to discern all the flavours. We had seven seconds to taste each glass,” Ko says.
“There were definitely some curveballs where salt, umami and an unflavoured glass of water was in the mix.”
Ko reveals his studious side when asked about the written tests in the competition.
Hong Kong doesn’t have a tradition or history of cocktails. We’ve always served what was trending overseas
“There was only one question I got wrong. I went back to check my questions after I finished and changed my answer. My original answer would have been right.”
Although he performed well in the written test, what set Ko apart were his creations.
“For the semi-finals, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea were in the low ABV (alcohol by volume) category where our cocktail could not be higher than eight per cent,” Ko says. “I immediately knew we had to serve it in a rock glass.”
He explains that the short and sturdy vessel usually holds a stronger drink, and using it to serve a low ABV drink it would help enhance the flavour of the alcohol.
As if by fate, Ko’s designated spirit for the semi-final round of the competition turned out to be grappa, which is right up his sommelier-trained alley.
“I decided to use papaya, something that is not common in Europe. I combined with it ‘happy’ ingredients such as vanilla, clarified milk and a floral grappa,” he says.
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“The world is such a messed up place right now, and if I can help you forget these troubles in the minutes you take to have this drink, then I have done my job. That’s why I named this cocktail Way to Tropical Paradise.”
Ko noticed there was a strong coffee culture in Italy, but thought it was missing the tea culture of Hong Kong.
Ko’s vision was to show the judges the connection between the two cultures, and he ultimately came up with a cocktail inspired by yuen yeung, a Hong Kong drink that combines tea and coffee.
Asked his next goal, the World Bartender of the Year answers: “Unlike Japan or the Americas, Hong Kong doesn’t have a tradition or history of cocktails. We’ve always served what was trending overseas.
“I would like Hong Kong to be known as one of the best destinations for cocktails and I want to help push that agenda forward.”
