The innovative drinks programme here is led by bar manager Lam Ka Tsun, previously of the renowned DarkSide at the Rosewood Hong Kong, who brings with him nine years of experience. Lam first visited Phnom Penh during a guest shift but was immediately drawn in by the warm culture and attracted by the city’s potential for growth.

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“There is so much potential here, and the local distillery scene really surprised me,” he enthuses. “I visited at first without any prior expectations, and when I stumbled upon such incredible producers, I knew I wanted to work with them.”

Over the course of the trip, Lam brings us to two distilleries; the first, Samai Distillery, is Cambodia’s first and only rum distillery, founded in 2014 by Daniel Pachero and Antonio Lopez, who hail from Venezuela. Its rum is crafted from local sugarcane (it is abundant in the area due to the conducive climate) and is used to make caramel molasses, which form the base of the rums.

Staying true to its namesake (samai is the Khmer term for modern), its unique Kampot Pepper Rum is crafted with red Kampot pepper, while the Samai Gold Rum is made with natural honey from Preah Vihear. The latter rum also forms the base of the Samai PX Rum Liqueur, which is made with refined PX wine, a rich and syrupy fortified wine. 

Back at the Rosewood’s Whisky Library, Lam gives us a taste of how he plans to utilise the Samai PX Rum Liqueur in a new cocktail he is developing. The off-menu concoction he slips to the group sees miso-infused rum with orange, Campari, and beer reduction that comes together in a sweet-savoury marriage that I (usually a very conservative sipper) find hard to put down.

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In the evening, we make a trip to Mawsim, a hole-in-the-wall gin distillery named after the Arabic term for seasons. The handcrafted gin uses ethanol made from water hyacinths, which grow in abundance in Cambodia. The Spices and Herbs gin uses Cambodian peppercorns and wild Cambodian cardamom, while the Tropical Citrus, recently awarded World’s Best Flavoured Gin at the World Gin Awards 2023, is made from four varieties of fresh tropical fruit.

Our tour at Mawsim is conducted enthusiastically by the animated chief distiller Ryuji Nukata, who hails from Japan. Like Nukata, Lam, Pachero, and Lopez, who all come from different corners of the world, I understand why such talents are magnetised to Phnom Penh and why they are working so hard to put its bar scene on the global map.

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