Hong Kong bar owner Victoria Chow says she’s happy to fix the drinks even at home
The entrepreneur behind The Woods, The Woods Annex and Kwoon by The Woods spills the beans on giving up coffee, mixing a great gin and tonic and her passion: dirty martinis
Victoria Chow, founder of bars The Woods and The Woods Annex, in Central, as well as the Kwoon by The Woods brand of canned cocktails, works long days. But, even though she’s in the intoxicating business of alcohol, when she does relax or entertain at home, she’s still happy to fix the drinks.
“If I make cocktails, it’s the simple stuff: margaritas, old fashioneds, gin and tonics,” Chow says, adding that her basic bar at home centres on gin, bourbon and tequila. “Bourbon and gin are two ends of the spectrum of what I like drinking: either light and refreshing or [bold], like an old fashioned.”
Chow’s gin of choice is St George Botanivore, distilled in the San Francisco Bay Area (she used to live in that Californian city) and boasting a complex mix of botanicals. While she aims for a 50-50 balance of spirit and tonic in her drink, that might fluctuate.
“If it’s a nice enough gin,” Chow says, “you want to be able to taste it.” And she tries always to have a trio of tonic waters; “If I have a gin that is distinct in flavour, then I will go for something like the East Imperial – it’s a little less carbonated, a little more neutral. Fever-Tree is a standard, a go-to, while 1724 goes with Gin Mare.”
“I’m a little less trustworthy when it comes to pouring; I will screw it up once or twice,” she admits. “It’s not second nature for me, as it is for my bartenders.”
