Another eponymous cocktail is the Quinary Sour, which resides firmly in the bar's signatures menu. Velvety and umami-forward, it's a whisky sour that has been spruced up with the addition of monkfruit and seaweed infusions, sweet vermouth, homemade bonito liquorice syrup, and finished with a spritz of bitters, bonito flakes, and a stencilled letter Q, in case you had any doubts about where you were.

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Head bartender Bone Cheng gives a uniquely Asian twist to the dirty martini with his Dashi Dirty Martini. As part of an infusion-focused menu, this twist on the classic incorporates vodka macerated with bonito, kombu, sun-dried mushrooms and whitebait, mixed with dry vermouth and finished with an obligatory olive for a deliciously filthy sipper.

Dio Store, 8 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong

Named after Ernest Hemingway's seminal 1964 account of his time living in Paris, A Moveable Feast takes inspiration from the herbaceous profile of the Bloody Mary in The Old Man's characteristically molecular approach. Gin and seawater are passed through a rotovap machine before meeting clear spiced cherry tomato, clear salted coconut syrup, and a drop of basil-tomato seed tincture. The mixture is pre-batched and infused with cheesewax, then poured out with each order and garnished with an oyster leaf, for a drink that's salty, savoury and spicy all at once.

One of the few remaining places left in Hong Kong to get a taste of the now-shuttered Okra is at The Pontiac, whose High Tide Martini was created in collaboration with chef Max Levy. Featuring gin, dashi-infused dry vermouth, Okra's wormwood tincture, and a pickled celery, this dirty martini riff is bursting with umami and sushi-centric flavours, hitting all the right notes when it comes to creating a savoury cocktail that you'll have hunger pangs for.

The Pontiac, 13 Old Bailey Street, Central, Hong Kong

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For a taste of the Über-savoury cocktail, why not head to where it all started? The St. Regis is rightly proud of the Bloody Mary's historical association with the hotel, dating back to 1934 when French barman Fernand Petiot—who is widely credited for inventing the Bloody Mary—took over the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis New York and made the drink synonymous with the brand. At the St. Regis Bar in Hong Kong, as is customary of the hotel's many locations, a localised version of the cocktail called the Canto Mary is served.

This rendition mixes Grey Goose vodka and peated Lagavulin 16-year-old scotch whisky with lemon juice and a blend of Hong Kong spices. Then, most importantly, comes the tomato juice, a choice which is left up to the guest. For a spicy and smokey profile, go for the red tomato juice base; a lighter and more sour profile can be attributed to the green base; while the yellow base provides a sweeter taste. 

Alternatively, choose from other versions of the Bloody Mary from St. Regis locations around the world, including the original New York version (later renamed the Red Snapper), the Hibiscus Mary from Cairo, or the Sangrita Maria from Mexico City.

The St. Regis Bar, 2/F, The St. Regis Hotel Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Newly-opened martini bar Kyle & Bain is possibly one of the city's most savoury-leaning bars, and among its offerings, the Mirepoix Martini is perhaps its most savoury drink. Named after a French cooking technique where diced carrots, onions and celery are slowly simmered with butter on low heat to create a flavour base, the cocktail recreates the moreish taste of mirepoix with some ingenious mixology. Allium, the relative of the onion that blooms a globular head of purple flowers, is infused into vodka, then mixed with fino sherry for dry umami, blanc vermouth for a touch of floral sweetness, and a dressing of chive oil for another kick of garlicky goodness.

Kyle & Bain, Shop 7, G/F, The Galleria, 9 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

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We're ending with a classic, and very likely one of the cocktails that elevated COA to the prime position of Asia's Best Bar in 2021. The Pepper Smash cleverly plays off the vegetal characteristics of tequila by infusing it with jalapeño pepper. Mezcal brings smokiness to the mix, while the main star of yellow bell pepper is supported by shiso liqueur and sweet basil. Cointreau, acid-adjusted pineapple and agave nectar round out the cocktail with complex sweetness. The result is something we deem a modern classic, and a uniquely quaffable drink that should only be had in multiples.