PENICILLIN, Hong Kong
PENICILLIN is Asia Pacific’s first closed-loop cocktail bar, celebrating sustainability as the core element of the venue. Centrally located on Hollywood Road and set in a room of striking interior design, PENICILLIN produces only 20% of the waste of a traditional bar. A cure-all for whatever is ailing you, PENICILLIN Hong Kong gets its name from the modern classic cocktail created by bartender Sam Ross, made with a blend of two Scotches, ginger, honey, and lemon, and the antibiotic which gave the cocktail its name. Home to an ambitious beverage program, PENICILLIN boasts an onsite laboratory with temperature-controlled fermentation room and state-of-the-art culinary equipment, including a rotovap, centrifuge, and ultrasonic homogenizer to deliver a seasonal cocktail menu made with locally sourced, upcycled, and recycled ingredients.
The team
PENICILLIN is led by a talented team of four co-founders, including Agung Prabowo and Roman Ghale of The Old Man fame, and their partners Laura Prabowo and Katy Ghale.
Co-founders Agung Prabowo, Laura Prabowo, Roman Ghale and Katy Ghale
The team
PENICILLIN is led by a talented team of four co-founders, including Agung Prabowo and Roman Ghale of The Old Man fame, and their partners Laura Prabowo and Katy Ghale.
Co-founders Agung Prabowo, Laura Prabowo, Roman Ghale and Katy Ghale
"We are excited to be a part of a business that helps others and the planet in a fun and sexy way. Having ancestors from Borneo, that region and its people are close to my heart. The Kalimantan rainforest is one of the most endangered on the planet. The reforestation we are doing with ecoSPIRITS and Green Steps Group is a great way to give back."
Laura Prabowo, Co-Founder
“With the Penicillin cocktail as our feature serve, we had to tackle the environmental impact of Scotch whisky, which must travel more than 10,000 kilometres to get to Hong Kong. ecoSPIRITS and Mackintosh Blended Malt Whisky make this possible, reducing our carbon emissions and waste dramatically.”
Agung Prabowo, Co-Founder
Laura Prabowo, Co-Founder
Agung Prabowo, Co-Founder
SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP
local
Local designer Betty Ng of design firm Collective made only minor changes to the existing bar layout, thereby minimising wasted material, and commissioned local artists to create artwork for the venue.
upcycled
Only reused and sustainable materials were used in the renovation, including recycled aluminium, reclaimed timber from trees felled by 2017's Typhoon Hato and old neon signs upcycled by local artisans.
organic
In the kitchen, the team uses local, organic ingredients wherever possible, partnering with local farms to plan seasonal food menus.
reduce
In the laboratory and fermentation room, the team uses leftover kitchen ingredients to make pickles, wines and shrubs, house-made hand sanitizers and cleansers.
handmade
Local arts and crafts are used for all products that are replaced frequently, including housemade coasters and signature glassware from a local potter.
biodegradable
Products harmful to the environment are eliminated wherever possible, including recycled paper products for the washroom and biodegradable potato starch straws.
handwashed
Team uniforms designed by Katy and Laura themselves are made from organic cotton and are handwashed.
glass waste
PENCILLIN has partnered with ecoSPIRITS on many of its spirits, dramatically reducing single use glass waste and carbon footprint.
“The response to the One Penicillin, One Tree cocktail collaboration has been incredible. We are proud that we are planting trees and making a difference, and our peers and guests are talking about it in a positive way. We believe the One Penicillin, One Tree initiative will become huge over time.“
Roman Ghale, Co-Founder
“The response to the One Penicillin, One Tree cocktail collaboration has been incredible. We are proud that we are planting trees and making a difference, and our peers and guests are talking about it in a positive way. We believe the One Penicillin, One Tree initiative will become huge over time.“
Roman Ghale, Co-Founder
THE PENICILLIN X ecoSPIRITS COLLABORATION
The venue’s signature cocktail is a collaboration with ecoSPIRITS and Mackintosh Blended Malt Whisky. The One Penicillin, One Tree Cocktail is made with Mackintosh Blended Malt, discarded apple skin, burned buttermilk milk, turmeric, ginger, and housemade apple cider, all served in a handmade clay cup. Showcased as a full page on the cocktail menu, every One Penicillin, One Tree Cocktail ordered saves 150g of C02 emissions, involves no single use glass, and plants one native tree in the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program in the endangered Kalimantan Rainforest in Borneo, Indonesia. Tree planting is co-funded by PENICILLIN, ecoSPIRITS and Mackintosh Whisky.
