Ginger
Our favorite way of wandering neighborhoods in Hong Kong was to zig zag through the small alleys and staircases in the shadows of skyscrapers. This was where life happened, rather than on the vehicle congested streets full of shop fronts. It's also where among the many concrete walls, we saw a concrete door, and inside that concrete door we found a small bar touting over four hundred bottles of whiskey called Ginger.
The only reason we spotted Ginger was when on a late night walk back to our hotel, a dapper young man seemingly stepped out of thin air in front of us to light a cigarette. When we looked a little closer we saw a relatively unmarked concrete door sliding closed and quickly made a note to return the next evening. After dinner the next night we tracked down the door again, stepped inside, and instantly knew we found the perfect place for nightcap before heading home. It ended up resulting in an evening where we quickly threw out any plans to rise early and embraced the debauchery within.
We found seats at the bar which is backed by young and friendly Hong Kong bartenders whom are passionate about whiskey and good conversations. We were offered up tastings based on our preferences and insightful explanations about each bottle that was poured, then placed in front of us. Before making it through out first taste, a pair of locals asked how we had found this special bar, and within a few minutes rounds were being bought and passed around like water.
We did our best to keep up among the endless pours and dim lighting conversing about life in Hong Kong, which in turn led to talk of Trump, then government and politics. By this point a few other international visitors had trickled in and before we knew it, a model UN debate had commenced about the validity of Democracy. Among whiskey-addled rants and plenty of laughter we soaked in the congenial and frank conversations nearly the entire bar had become involved in. Taking a moment to enjoy Hong Kong for its melting pot of cultures and views, we bought a final round for the kind gentlemen who treated us and snuck out the concrete door to embrace the hangover that would greet us the next morning. ◆
