Profile | Japanese bar group owner Shingo Gokan on the cocktail that set him on road to global fame

Shingo Gokan talks about the moments leading up to the opening of his eponymous new cocktail bar in Hong Kong’s Central neighbourhood

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Shingo Gokan mixes a cocktail at SG Tavern, one of his bars in Toyko. The Japanese bar group boss now owns 10 bars spanning Japan, China and the US, including
Gokan, his eponymous new cocktail bar on Ice House Street in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Gokan

Published: 6:15pm, 12 Jul 2024Updated: 5:06pm, 13 Jul 2024

In the days leading up to the 2024 Asia’s 50 Best Bars award ceremony on July 16 – arguably the world’s most prominent awards for bars and bartending talent – Shingo Gokan is busy overseeing the finishing touches on his eponymous new venue in Hong Kong, his first in the city.

The bar, in Central, will open on July 14 with a celebration titled “Gokan’s SG10” that brings together 10 of his bartending proteges from around the world, from Kris Du of Shanghai’s Speak Low to Ruka Hattori of The SG Club in Tokyo.

The event will mark 10 years since the establishment of Gokan’s bar management company, SG Group, but it is more than 20 since he first dipped his toes into the world of bartending.

It is a searing 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) in Hong Kong on the day we meet, but Gokan’s interior is invitingly cool. Past the vintage-American-style brick facade there are subtle nods to Hong Kong’s bing sutt (traditional-style cafes) in the front salon, while other elements are inspired by Japanese culture, such as the panels on the walls that are shaped like byobu (Japanese folding screens).

Cocktails at Gokan in Hong Kong will include Khun Tommy’s (left) and Rebujito (right). Photo: Gokan

At the far end of the L-shaped space – barflies may remember it as the former location of the nightclub Mudita or, previously, Fly – a dividing wall made to resemble blocks of frozen ice cubes gives a gentle nod to our location on the historic Ice House Street.

The sound of drilling occasionally punctuates the conversation, while bartenders polish and stack away delicate glassware in front of a loaded backbar.