Taste The Orient is a new London-wide drinks festival celebrating Asian bar culture, flavour and hospitality taking place from 22-28 June 2026.

The event will bring together 45 of London’s leading Asian bars and restaurants for a week-long programme of exclusive signature serves, short menus, tasting flights and food pairings, created only for the festival.

Sharman-Cox and Payne said: “Taste The Orient arrives at a time when we’re seeing not only Asian bars, but the best bars citywide being influenced by Asian serves and flavours. With the festival, we wanted to create a focused platform that shows the depth of Asian hospitality in the city, from destination bars to brilliant neighbourhood venues, and gives bartenders the space to tell more specific stories through the drinks they create.”

The programme spans venues including Gong Bar at Shangri-La The Shard, Sexy Fish, Hakkasan Mayfair, The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental, Opium Chinatown, Kioku by Endo at The Owo, Roka, Yauatcha, Soma, Park Chinois, Zuma and 19 Fifty Seven.

Michel Lu, founder of The Orientalist Spirits, added: "The Orientalist started with a simple belief that Asia's drink culture deserved a spirits brand that celebrated and brought together the remarkable flavours, crafts and traditions from the world’s largest continent. Taste The Orient is that idea at scale, across a city that already has world class venues and bars, and a consumer that I think welcomes this sort of exploration better than almost anywhere else.”

The festival follows The Orientalist Spirits’ official UK launch earlier this year, which set out the brand’s aim to build both trade credibility and consumer awareness in the UK.