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
