Never Never re-releases Bar Leone gin

By Editor on June 15, 2026

Never Never has re-released its Coffee & Cacao Gin, a collaboration with the World’s Best Bar 2025 winner Bar Leone.

Recently topping The World’s 50 Best Bars list, Bar Leone is located in Hong Kong and was designed to pay tribute to Italian pop-culture and the art of classic bartending.

Originally developed with Bar Leone founder Lorenzo Antinori in 2023, Coffee & Cacao Gin was created specifically for Negronis, working with the dark, spice-led profile of Italian sweet vermouth while drawing on the flavours of Roman cafés and classic Italian desserts.

The re-release follows the opening of Bar Leone Shanghai, which created an opportunity for Never Never to revisit the original liquid for the new venue. Coffee & Cacao Gin is now served as the house Negroni gin at Bar Leone in both Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Cacao butter is washed into the spirit to create a rich, decadent mouthfeel, while distilled coconut cream further amplifies the palate weight. The result is a layered, textural gin built around roasted coffee bean, cacao nib, cacao butter, coconut cream and bergamot peel.

Never Never co-founder Sean Baxter said: “We sent a pallet of our original Coffee & Cacao Gin to Hong Kong and then it promptly sold out here in Australia.

“Lorenzo couldn’t ship the original 500ml bottle from Hong Kong to China without going through the process of importation and paying duty taxes so we decided to re-release the product, again just for his new bar in Shanghai.

“When Hong Kong runs out, no doubt we will send it there as well, but for now the new release will only be available in Bar Leone Shanghai and through our distillery door and website.”

According to Baxter, Coffee & Cacao tastes like standing at a bar in Rome ordering an espresso and a sfogliatelle before midday.

Antinori agrees: “I love the nod to Italy – these flavours are truly representative of both food and drinks tradition, this gin excites me because it carries a big body with lots of layers of flavours: toasted ones, umami but also citrusy and floral.”

In Australia, Coffee & Cacao Gin is available for a limited time through the Never Never website and distillery door in McLaren Vale.