A pioneer, The Orientalist Spirits, an all-Asian craft brand, has officially launched in the UK. With an exceptional range of ultra-premium spirits, the brand makes sure to source all its ingredients from diverse regions across East Asia to create world-class vodka, gin, rum, and whisky.
To celebrate the UK launch of The Orientalist Spirits, COMO Metropolitan London are holding an evening of culinary excellence with a fusion of Asian and Nordic culinary traditions, with each dish thoughtfully paired alongside The Orientalist Spirits’ finest spirits and cocktails.
A Celebratory Evening with Chef Mathew Leong
To celebrate the launch, The Orientalist Spirits have an “Evening with Chef Mathew Leong” at COMO Metropolitan London Mayfair on the 28th and 29th of November where visitors will try the new spirits through cocktails crafted by Kaoru Takii from Mixology Salon Japan and Francis Madrigal, Head Mixologist at COMO. As the Executive Chef of RE-NAA, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Norway, Chef Mathew has curated a menu showcasing the finest Nordic seafood flavours infused with Asian influences to complement the drinks.
Refreshing and aromatic, Dill will be the first cocktail, using The Orientalist Gunpowder Gin as a base and blending it with Ukiyo sake, elderflower liqueur, as well as dill, dill soda, and dill water. The accompanying dish is Hamachi Crudo, buttery yellowtail enhanced by the zest of fermented yuzu, wasabi, and the herbaceous notes of verbena oil.
Next comes Iribancha, featuring the Orientalist Origins Vodka infused with Iribancha, fresh tomato, konbu genmai syrup, and citrus—all coming together as a sophisticated blend. The cocktail best pairs with Chef Mathew’s King Crab Chawanmushi, a silky Japanese-inspired egg custard with an Asiatic shellfish espuma that adds a rich, umami depth.
Bright and well-layered, Pear also uses Orientalist Origins Vodka as a base—infused with pear—and combines apple water, elderflower liqueur, poire liqueur, citric solution, and vintage calvados. You’ll savour this cocktail with grilled BBQ Hand-Dived Scallops—smoky, tender, and dressed with the Nordic XO sauce, forming a bold, umami-packed dish of seafood and spices.
For the main course, you’ll have the refined Hojicha cocktail mixing the Orientalist Dragon Whisky with hojicha, apricot liquor blend, white port wine, and aged cognac. To eat, Monkfish on the Bone will surely captivate with its seabuckthorn and morel mushrooms, balancing tender yet robust flavours with tart, citrusy, earthy, and nutty notes.
Flower will conclude the night with flower-infused Orientalist Imperial Rum, combined with espresso, cacao, and vanilla syrup—a sweet finale to the evening. This is paired next to pumpkin ice cream, spiced with the aromatic heat of Timut pepper and brightened by citrus and the fragrant notes of elderflower. After dinner, you can also check out their onsite chocolatier, William Curley at COMO Metropolitan London, which is an exclusive pop-up boutique.
*The experience is priced at £275.
The Orientalist Spirits Range
Triple-blended with Taiwanese longan honey, barley from the Tibetan Highlands, and nine varieties of potatoes, The Orientalist Origins Vodka is proofed using ultra-soft water from the Sakurajima Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The end result has a creamy feel, with a succulent aromatic sweetness as well as earthy and herbaceous notes lingering—enjoyed either as a bone-dry martini or on the rocks.
The Orientalist Spirits was founded by entrepreneur Michel Lu, renowned for his achievements in the entertainment industry before building an empire in the food & beverage space. He’s passionate about mentoring the next generation of F&B entrepreneurs and took the role of programme director and lead instructor for the Advanced Certificate in F&B Entrepreneurship by Singapore Management University. A recognised thought-leader, Michel made his way into the annual ‘Power List’ by Singapore newspaper The Straits Times.
A double-wood blend matured over eight years, The Orientalist Dragon Whisky boasts a rich, warm amber colour. The flavour profile has complex layers of dried dates, fresh red fruits, and a touch of dark chocolate. On the nose, you’ll smell vanilla, raisin, apricot, and sherry, along with hints of spice and smoke. All of this comes together through the blending of whiskies from three of the region’s top producers: Japan, Taiwan, and India. You can have this one neat, or in a classic cocktail.
The Orientalist Gunpowder Gin is crafted like no other—made in a contemporary way using a blend of traditional and low-temperature vacuum distillation. Inside, the gin has hints of tea, black pepper, and citrus, melding as a crisp, clean, and sophisticated spirit. To count, The Orientalist Spirits used 23 different botanicals to enrich the blend, including Gunpowder tea, Kampot peppercorn, Siberian ginseng, Korean Omija berries, dried tangerine peel, Osmanthus flower, angelica, coriander, orris root, and Macedonian juniper berries. Aromatic and refreshing, you should have the gin in a classic Martini or a Negroni.
Last but not least, The Orientalist Solera 23 Imperial Rum was hand-crafted in a small batch using a blend of rums ranging between 6 and 23 years old from Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia aged at origin in the classic Solera process from a series of ex-bourbon and Pedro Ximenez sherry barrels.
Tickets are available from Comoclub or COMO Metropolitan London via email or by calling 020 7447 1000.
To discover more about The Orientalist Spirits, visit theorientalistspirits.com
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All imagery courtesy of The Orientalist Spirits & COMO Metropolitan London.