Path of Least Resistance

Despite being surrounded by alcohol all day, every day, a growing class of bartenders are choosing to drastically cut down on drinking, or even abstain entirely. How do they do it?

- Vanessa Lee

The F&B industry is an especially gruelling one, where workers face unforgiving hours in a high-speed, high-pressure environment. It’s enough to drive anyone to the bottle, and for bartenders who are surrounded by alcohol, indulgence is an occupational hazard; consider, for example, the tradition of doing shots with customers. Factor in the creative side of bartending and the idea of becoming teetotal, or even cutting down, seems even more unrealistic. If quitting drinking is hard enough for those outside the industry, then how does—and why would—one resist the siren call of the sauce from behind the bar? Yet a small but growing class of bartenders have managed it in Hong Kong, despite representing some of the city’s finest and most cutting-edge drinking establishments.

Jay Khan, the founder of world-renowned mezcal and tequila bar COA in Central, often makes it clear that he won’t be partaking in any revelry with a kind but firm “No, thank you.” “I feel like people who know me won’t force me,” he says. Khan acknowledges his non-drinking comes as a surprise to many, though. “I’ve been surrounded by booze my whole career. A lot of guests who don’t know me find it hard to believe that I don’t drink.” He likes to taste cocktails when visiting bars but usually won’t finish them, and, out of consideration for the bar staff’s feelings, will communicate his intentions beforehand: “We’re all in the same industry; it’s embarrassing sometimes for me, if somebody comes and doesn’t finish my drink. I feel bad. It’s a thing, you know: you work so hard on a drink and somebody doesn’t like it—it’s not a good feeling. So I always give them a heads up.”