The Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award recognises the bar that exemplifies the highest commitment to sustainability, ethical sourcing and the wider community, based on an independent audit carried out by Food Made Good Global, 50 Best’s sustainability partner.
Located in Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Bar Trigona serves drinks using indigenous and sustainable ingredients under the watch of head bartender and bar manager Ashish Sharma.
“It (the award) rewards the hard work of my team who are truly passionate about operating sustainably and it is great news for us to be able to speak about something positive in this difficult period,” said Sharma.
“Now is the perfect time to think about how we can all work more sustainably as it can have 100% of our concentration. Five years ago, no one had really heard about sustainable practices in the bar sector, so we have come a long way in a relatively short space of time, but there is definitely more we can do.”
Named after the stingless trigona bee that is native to southeast Asia, the bar opened in 2018 and gained quick recognition for its innovative and eco-friendly cocktails.
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It works closely with four local farms to source for most of its ingredients, which provide the produce no matter what its shape, size or appearance.
All fruits are delivered in bulk and without plastic packaging; no part of the fruit is wasted and anything over-ripe is used to make fermented juices.
One of Bar Trigona’s latest initiatives is its Save the Bees programme, which not only highlights the provenance of its small-batch local honey but encourages its customers to be part of the sustainability initiative by adopting their own hive of honeybees.
Mark Sansom, content editor for Asia’s 50 Best Bars, said: “As the bar landscape in Asia and across the world prepares for recovery, it is important to recognise the achievements that have taken the teams this far.”
The fifth edition of the Asia’s 50 Best Bars will be unveiled in a digital countdown via YouTube and Facebook on 14 May, beginning at 7pm Singapore time.
