Two bartenders have been named regional champions of Hennessy MyWay 2026, securing their places at the competition’s Global Finals in France later this year. The regional finals were held at Astor Bar in The St Regis Kuala Lumpur, where six bartenders from the region presented cocktails built around personal stories, cultural references and sustainability considerations in front of the judges and members of the media. Each finalist was tasked with translating an aspect of their own background or culinary heritage into a single serve, using Hennessy cognac as the base spirit.

Ong Qin Yen, of The Nest Cocktail Bar in Penang, was crowned Malaysia’s national champion, while Hengie Arboleda, of The Spirits Library in the Philippines, took the regional title covering the Philippines and Vietnam. Both will now travel to France to represent their respective countries against other national and regional winners from around the world, as champions from other markets also make their way to the Global Finals.

The competitors’ work was assessed by a four-person judging panel: Jason Cheah, general manager of Moët Hennessy Diageo Malaysia; Fabien Levieux, global brand ambassador of Hennessy; Shawn Chong, owner of Bar Mizukami; and Katelyn Tan, dining and travel editor for Tatler Malaysia and Indonesia. Between them, the panel represented the brand, the bar trade and the wider hospitality media, giving the competition a judging perspective that spanned commercial, technical and cultural considerations.

Ong won with a cocktail called Tang in Silk, built around a zero-waste approach to ingredients. She turned parts of a salmon that are typically discarded into an umami-rich syrup, which she combined with Hennessy V.S.O.P, passion fruit, Sichuan pepper and a peanut cheese foam. The drink was served alongside a homemade salmon jerky canapé, extending the zero-waste concept from the glass to the accompanying bite.

“Tang in Silk was inspired by one of my favourite dishes, Salmon Fish Soup, and the idea of looking at ingredients differently. Parts of the fish that are usually overlooked can become an unexpected source of flavour and texture when we take the time to explore them.”

Ong Qin Yen, of The Nest Cocktail Bar in Penang

Arboleda’s winning drink, Another Side, was designed around the idea of looking past first impressions. Its central ingredient is pinipig, pounded and toasted glutinous rice associated with Filipino cuisine, which he paired with Hennessy V.S.O.P, pear and Pineau des Charentes, a fortified wine from the same Charente region as Hennessy’s cognac. The drink was finished with a pear and pinipig meringue intended to offset its acidity with natural sweetness, giving the serve a textural element alongside its layered flavour profile.

“Another Side is about curiosity and seeing things from a different perspective. I wanted to bring an element of my culture into the drink while encouraging people to discover something new.”

Hengie Arboleda, of The Spirits Library in the Philippines

Both bartenders will now join national and regional champions from other countries at the Hennessy MyWay Global Finals in France, the next stage of the competition. The Global Finals will bring together this international cohort of mixologists to compete on a single stage, with each representative once again drawing on their own creative perspective while working within the constraints of a shared base spirit.

Hennessy said the event forms part of its ongoing engagement with the mixology community, providing a setting where bartenders can share ideas and approaches with peers from other markets. Organisers said the champions would have the opportunity to meet other bartenders internationally as they prepare for the global stage, describing the competition as more than a contest and instead a platform for exchange, celebration and mutual inspiration among industry peers.

Hennessy, the cognac house founded by Richard Hennessy, has a history spanning 260 years and distributes to more than 160 countries, while remaining based in the Charente region of France. Beyond its core cognac production, the company has built a record of collaborations with designers, artists and musicians from around the world, positioning itself as a brand that engages with creative communities well beyond the drinks trade — a positioning reflected in the format of Hennessy MyWay itself, which places personal creativity and storytelling at the centre of its judging criteria.

Regional cocktail competitions such as Hennessy MyWay have become an increasingly visible part of how major spirits companies engage with bartenders across Asia, a region that has grown into one of the industry’s most closely watched markets for premium and super-premium spirits. Rather than functioning purely as promotional events, competitions of this kind now serve as informal talent pipelines, giving companies direct visibility into up-and-coming bartenders while giving those bartenders exposure to international judging panels, brand ambassadors and, ultimately, a global audience at finals events. For markets such as Malaysia and the Philippines, where the craft cocktail scene has expanded rapidly over the past decade, this kind of platform offers a route to recognition that historically ran through a smaller number of established hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The format of this year’s competition, which asked bartenders to draw on personal history, local ingredients and sustainability practices, also reflects a broader shift in how cocktail competitions are judged. Where such contests once leaned heavily on technical execution and classic reference points, many now put comparable weight on originality, storytelling and resourcefulness — factors that reward bartenders for engaging with their own culinary traditions rather than imitating an international house style. Ong’s use of underused salmon offcuts and Arboleda’s use of pinipig, a rice product with deep roots in Filipino cooking, are both examples of ingredients drawn from domestic food culture rather than a standardised international bar pantry. That approach mirrors wider trends in the region’s food and drink scene, where chefs and bartenders alike have increasingly looked to reframe overlooked or humble ingredients as sources of complexity and flavour, partly in response to growing customer interest in sustainability and provenance.

For Hennessy and other major spirits producers, competitions of this scale also function as a form of long-term market building. Cognac remains a relatively niche category in many Southeast Asian markets compared with categories such as whisky or gin, and events that put the spirit into the hands of bartenders — who then reinterpret it through cocktails aimed at local palates — can help build familiarity with the category among younger drinkers and hospitality professionals who might otherwise default to more established spirits. The eventual Global Finals in France will bring together champions from multiple countries, offering both the company and the bartenders themselves a chance to compare regional approaches to a single base spirit, and giving the winners a credential that can carry weight well beyond the competition itself as they continue their careers.

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Where Tea Meets Cognac: Hennessy Unveils New Mid-Autumn Limited Editions with Jackson Wang

Hennessy has introduced a pair of limited-edition decanters for the Mid-Autumn Festival, created in collaboration with Hennessy Global Ambassador Jackson Wang, as part of a campaign the cognac house is calling “Experience a New Kind of Ceremony.”

Unveiled in Kuala Lumpur recently, the campaign centres on limited-edition Hennessy V.S.O.P and Hennessy X.O decanters, developed with Jackson Wang, described by Hennessy as an internationally acclaimed artist. The collaboration reimagines the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the region’s most established cultural traditions, through what Hennessy describes as a contemporary ritual inspired by the meeting of tea culture and cognac craftsmanship.

According to Hennessy, “Experience a New Kind of Ceremony” is intended as a modern interpretation of the festival’s spirit of celebration, built around curated tea-inspired pairings and new serving rituals. The House said the concept is meant to honour the tradition of gathering associated with Mid-Autumn while creating new ways for people to connect with one another across generations, bringing together tea and cognac as two distinct traditions within a single experience.

The two decanters share a design language built around the meeting of these traditions, featuring fluid lines, bold contrasts and a moon motif patterned with tea leaves, a nod to both the festival’s lunar associations and the tea-inspired concept running through the campaign. Hennessy said the designs are intended to reflect the convergence of tea and cognac as two distinct traditions, celebrating shared moments through an appreciation of taste, ritual and artistry.

The Hennessy V.S.O.P Limited Edition is positioned as the more vibrant and contemporary of the two expressions, designed around tea-inspired serves such as an Oolong Iced Tea and intended for livelier gatherings. Hennessy said the edition’s dynamic colour palette is meant to reflect both the energy of the season and the movement of the liquid as it is poured.

The Hennessy X.O Limited Edition takes a more refined approach, built around serves such as Hennessy X.O paired with Pu’er tea ice. Hennessy describes the edition’s rich amber tones, complemented by subtle silver accents, as echoing the sophistication of the tasting experience and inviting a more contemplative style of gathering, suited to quieter conversation rather than a livelier setting.

Jackson Wang fronts the campaign, with Hennessy citing his creative vision and connection to his Asian heritage as central to the spirit of “Experience a New Kind of Ceremony.” The House described him as a global cultural icon representing a new generation that honours tradition while embracing contemporary expression, and said his involvement was intended to inspire new ways for people to gather, celebrate and create memories together. As a musician and performer with an established following across Asia, Wang’s role in the campaign extends beyond a straightforward endorsement, with Hennessy framing his participation as a reflection of the values the House is looking to associate with the collaboration.

“Hennessy is proud to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with Jackson Wang. This collaboration reflects our long-standing heritage and craftsmanship in a way that resonates with Asian culture, while reinforcing our ambition to build lasting connections rooted in tradition yet open, emotional and shared across generations.“

Charles Delapalme, President and CEO of Hennessy

The Hennessy V.S.O.P and Hennessy X.O Mid-Autumn Festival Limited Editions are now available at selected retailers across Malaysia.

We attended the masterclass at The Chamber at The Starhill which was hosted by Fabien Levieux, Global Brand Ambassador of Hennessy. During the masterclass, Fabien walked us through the history and heritage of Hennessy, facilitated a tasting of Hennessy V.S.O.P and X.O and both signature cocktails which were specially developed for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.

For consumers shopping for something to mark Mid-Autumn this year, Hennessy’s limited-edition decanters offer a way to bring a well-known cognac house into a festival that has traditionally centred on mooncakes, lanterns and family tea gatherings rather than spirits. Pairing the V.S.O.P and X.O with tea-based serves such as an Oolong Iced Tea or Hennessy X.O over Pu’er tea ice gives shoppers two distinct ways to serve the cognac at a Mid-Autumn gathering, whether the occasion calls for something livelier shared over dinner with a larger group, or a quieter one-on-one catch-up more suited to the X.O’s slower, more contemplative pairing.

The two offerings are also aimed squarely at gifting, a significant part of how Mid-Autumn is marked across the region. A moon-and-tea-leaf motif and a limited production run give the bottles a distinct identity that separates them from Hennessy’s standard packaging, which is likely to appeal to shoppers looking for something with a seasonal, collectible quality to give to family or business contacts during the festival, rather than a bottle intended purely for personal drinking. The involvement of Jackson Wang, an artist with a substantial following across the region, adds a further layer of appeal for younger consumers who may associate him with music and fashion rather than spirits, potentially drawing a newer audience toward a category that has traditionally skewed towards older, more established drinkers.

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Photos by Hennessy and the author’s own