THE GIN PASSPORT ATLAS - DISTILLERY STORY- PINNED ON THE MAP - ASIA
TWO MOONS GIN, Hong Kong
An actual distillery visit! For a ginthusiast like me, that's pretty much a dream come true!
I finally made it to Two Moons Distillery in Chai Wan in May 2026, and it was one of those visits where I could quite happily have stayed for the entire day, but as we were on a tight schedule, we only had a couple of hours to spare.
A huge thank you to Ivan for the wonderful hospitality, the generous tastings and for taking the time to tell me all about their business and some secret squirrel plans for a new gin (Ginger Gin, which has since launched).
We were hosted in their lovely little bar and reception area, where I tasted my way through several of their expressions while Luna sat behind glass nearby. It was a slightly surreal way to visit a distillery, but there's a good reason for it — Hong Kong's regulations require the still to be separated from the visitor area, so even in this tiny distillery, Luna gets her own glass-fronted room.
Two Moons was established by Ivan Chang and Dimple Yuen in 2019 and is recognised as Hong Kong's first craft gin distillery. Getting there was anything but straightforward. At the time, there was little precedent for producing spirits locally, so Ivan and Dimple had to navigate an enormous amount of red tape and licensing requirements before they could finally open their doors. It took almost two years of applications, inspections and paperwork before they secured their distillery licence.
Finding premises was another challenge. Hong Kong isn't exactly known for cheap real estate, so choosing to establish a tiny distillery in the city was a brave decision.
Two Moons eventually found its home in Chai Wan, an industrial area on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island, where rents are generally more manageable than in the more central commercial districts.
It is small — very small compared with many of the distilleries I've visited — but somehow that makes the whole thing feel even more hands-on and personal.
The story started with a passion for gin. Ivan had a background in hospitality, while Dimple had previously worked as a programmer before becoming so fascinated by distilling that she went on to study for a diploma in distilling with the Institute of Brewing & Distilling in the UK. Their shared curiosity about flavour and botanicals eventually became the inspiration for Two Moons.
Their philosophy is wonderfully simple: take the classic gin styles they love and give them a distinctly Hong Kong personality. Asian botanicals feature prominently, while local ingredients and familiar flavours have inspired some of their more experimental expressions.
Their Five Flowers Tea Gin, for example, was inspired by the traditional herbal tea that Dimple's grandmother used to make, while their Calamansi Gin came about after discovering the fruit growing locally in Hong Kong.
Then there is Luna, their rather magnificent 100-litre copper still. When it arrived from Germany, Ivan and Dimple thought its rounded copper shape looked like a moon. Hence Luna became their second moon — the first being the one in the Hong Kong sky — and ultimately gave the distillery its name.
Their Signature Dry Gin is where it all began. The original recipe evolved from their early experiments, when they were essentially trying to work out whether they could make a gin they actually loved themselves. They put it through blind tastings alongside established international gins and, to their surprise, it frequently came out on top. That gave them the confidence to take the rather enormous leap from gin enthusiasts to distillers.
The Signature Dry is a classic at heart, but with plenty of Asian character. Its botanicals include tangerine peel, lemon peel, pink peppercorn, Chinese apricot kernels, tonka bean and Madagascan vanilla, alongside more traditional gin botanicals. The result is citrusy and peppery, with lovely soft spice and a subtle nuttiness.
"Two Moons, one Hong Kong distillery and a lot of passion"
What I particularly like about Two Moons is that they don't seem interested in making something different for the sake of being different. They are curious, they experiment, they take inspiration from the city around them and then put their own spin on it.
That's exactly what I love about gin - it can have terroir, a sense of place and a story of where it comes from.
After meeting Ivan and tasting the range in May, I came away with an even greater appreciation for what they are doing. Hong Kong may not be the first place that springs to mind when you think about gin, but Two Moons has certainly put it on my gin map.
And yes, Luna is every bit as beautiful in real life as she looks in the photographs.
"Show me a bottle and
I'll tell you a story"
