Friday night saw the official launch of Black Tears Rum in Shanghai at the infamous Glory.  

Society and Black Tears, the First Cuban Spiced Rum, were out with a clear mission: communicate the raw emotive energy of Black Tears Rum, using various forms of art, from music, design, body art, mixology (of course!) and other self-expressing sub-cultures to celebrate people daring to live their life without holding back, seizing the day and uncompromisingly stimulating all of their senses.

Celebrating the live-in-the-moment attitude, and making the most of the strong aesthetics of Black Tears cryptic symbols, guests were welcomed on the ground floor by a full mural of wheatpaste poster, depicting Black Tears Rum inspired designs, with a welcome shot of Black Tears, poured from a bespoke design ice sculpture encapsulating Black Tears bottles and adorned with Black Tears artwork. Guests were also offered temporary Black Tears tattoos in a further celebration of the brand’s link to contemporary street and body art.

On the 2nd floor, DJs animated the evening, spinning an array tunes from funk to 80s disco. Behind the bar, female guest bartender Ana Sausa, former Head Bartender at Pontiac (Top 50 Bar in the World), was preparing tiki cocktails using Black Tears Rum.

On the third floor mezzanine, a small, dedicated VIP area welcomed the who’s who of China’s bar scene. Edward Gao, Black Tears Brand Ambassador spent the evening preparing signature cocktails such as Tears’N’Tonic, mixing Black Tears Spiced Rum, Orange Liqueur, Lemon and Tonic Water, with a coffee infused option. A second option was the Dark’N’Storm where Black Tears Rum was mixed with Ginger Beer. Limited edition posters and customized skateboards adorning the walls were available for select VIPs to take home.

With over 200 guests the party continued into the early hours, the perfect warm up to a long weekend of drinks industry events culminating in Monday’s much anticipated DRiNK Awards.