Helming the bar is Lorenzo Antinori, the charismatic Four Seasons beverage ambassador for Asia-Pacific, and protegé Summer Lo, who were largely responsible for placing Caprice Bar, located just a few floors above, at #10 on this year's Asia's 50 Best Bars. Supported by head bartender Yvonne Chan, formerly of The Old Man and Quinary, and Proof & Company's Tom Egerton, the duo are opening with a cocktail menu titled 'Here Today, Gone Tomorrow'—a fitting aphorism for the shifting political, economic, and environmental landscape we find ourselves in.

Accordingly, the menu is based on six staple ingredients—honey, cacao, vanilla, coffee, rice, and apple—that may be endangered in the future due to environmental degradation. Local and regional partners provide the raw ingredients for the drinks, from mono-floral lychee and longan honey from local bee farm HK Raw Honey, to ethically-sourced, single-origin cocoa from Malaysia's Chocolate Concierge. Each ingredient spawns two cocktails: an 'origin' cocktail that captures the traditional form of the ingredient, and an 'evolution' cocktail that explores the ways in which our relationship with said ingredient will evolve as it becomes more scarce.

See also: Through The Stirring Glass: Quinary Founder Antonio Lai's Career So Far In 3 Cocktails

The bar is also home to the 'Field Guide to the World’s Innovative Spirits', a collection of bottles chosen from around the world for their propensity for innovating and breaking the traditional boundaries of spirits classification. Split into the categories of Modernist Spirits, Collaborative Creations, Philanthropic and Socially Conscious, Sense of the Land, and Clash of the Worlds, each of the 54 spirits (half of which are available in Hong Kong for the first time) proudly wear their provenance, production methods and story on their sleeves. 

Among the collection is the Argo Gin, a proprietary spirit made for the bar by South Australian company Never Never Distilling Co., and designed specifically for inclusion in the eponymous Argo Martini. It rubs shoulders with the likes of Monker’s Garkel Gin from Bristol-based Circumstance Distillery, which has the distinct accolade of being the world's first AI-created gin.

With an eye towards an uncertain, ever-changing future, Argo is a blueprint for the evolution of mixology into a craft that will likely be dominated by scarcity. Yet, with its focus on bringing together the world's like-minded makers and drinkers of cocktails and spirits, the bar also promises to be a sturdy ship in stormy waters. As Zeus intones in the 1963 cinematic adaptation of Jason and the Argonauts: "For the moment, let them enjoy a calm sea, a fresh breeze and each other. Let us continue the game another day."

Related: The Most Unique Gins Across Asia Right Now