PEDDLERS GIN BLENDS BOTANICALS WITH COFFEE CULTURE IN CHINA TIE-UP

Shanghai craft gin brand Peddlers has partnered with Starbucks Reserve Bar Mixato to launch a limited-edition cocktail programme across China. Featuring coffee-infused serves and a four-city bartender tour, the collaboration highlights a growing appetite for experimental, locally inspired drinks among younger consumers.

Shanghai-based Peddlers Gin has joined forces with Starbucks Reserve Bar Mixato to launch a nationwide cocktail collaboration in China, signalling an evolving intersection between coffee culture and craft spirits in one of the world’s most dynamic beverage markets.

The initiative, running until 7 June, introduces a limited-time cocktail menu across 19 Mixato locations, the high-end bar concept operated by Starbucks and found predominantly in Asia. Designed to appeal to younger, experience-driven consumers, the programme blends small-batch Reserve coffee with Peddlers’ distinctly Chinese botanical gin expressions.

At the heart of the collaboration are three of the brand’s core offerings—Rare Eastern, Salted Plum, and Barrel-aged Gin—alongside its limited-edition Year of the Horse release, Tanghulu Street Candy Gin. Each spirit is reimagined through a series of cocktails crafted by bartender Millie Tang, whose menu combines espresso, tea, local fruits and traditional Chinese spices to create what organisers describe as approachable yet contemporary serves.

The partnership will also be amplified through a four-city guest shift tour led by Tang, bringing the cocktails to life in Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Shanghai between late April and early May. The tour underscores a growing trend of experiential hospitality, where storytelling and live engagement play as vital a role as the drinks themselves.

Supporting the collaboration are additional partners including Tabb and Licor 43, further enriching the cross-cultural flavour profile of the initiative.

The tie-up reflects a broader shift within China’s urban drinking scene, where consumers are increasingly drawn to hybrid concepts that fuse global formats with local identity. By pairing craft gin rooted in Chinese botanicals with premium coffee culture, the collaboration positions itself at the forefront of a new wave of beverage innovation, one that prioritises creativity, locality and accessibility in equal measure.