Choeng Doi Bartender Residency
The Choeng Doi Bartender Residency invites leading bartenders to spend one week in Northern Thailand, immersed in raw material, fermentation, and bar culture.
Hosted at Choeng Doi Distillery in Chiang Dao and culminating in a guest shift in Chiang Mai, the residency centres on either Choeng Doi Blanc or SONKLIN. The resident selects the spirit. The distillery provides the landscape, production access, and framework.
This is a working collaboration designed for bartenders who value structure, material, and place.
A Flexible Framework
While the residency follows a clear structure, it is intentionally flexible. Time and space are built in to explore ideas that genuinely interest the resident, whether that means deeper fermentation trials, additional field visits, alternative ingredient experiments, or extended R&D sessions. The programme is designed as a framework rather than a fixed script, allowing each residency to reflect the curiosity, strengths, and creative direction of the visiting bartender.
What Choeng Doi Provides
Choeng Doi supports each resident with:
• Accommodation, food and drinks in Chiang Dao and Chiang Mai
• Pick up in Chiang Mai
• Full access to the distillery and production team
• Ingredient sourcing support for the residency drink
• Coordination with the host bar in Chiang Mai
• Professional photo and video documentation of the week
International travel to Thailand is not included unless otherwise agreed.
Professional Outcomes
The residency is designed to contribute to long term professional development.
• Full technical documentation of all four drinks
• Photography and video content
• A published residency case study across Choeng Doi channels
• Direct engagement with the Chiang Mai bar community and media.
• Ongoing access to Choeng Doi for future collaborations
Each residency becomes part of an evolving archive documenting how bar culture intersects with Northern Thai agriculture.
Past
Residencies
Browse the archive of past residencies, including process notes, menus, and outcomes.
Suggested Itinerary
Day Six
The residency shifts from distillery to bar. The resident integrates with the host venue in Chiang Mai, trains the team, rehearses service flow, and finalises mise en place. A trade preview session may be hosted at the partner bar, inviting local bartenders to taste the residency menu and engage in discussion. The evening is spent engaging with the local bar community ahead of the guest shift.
Day Five
With the new Chiang Dao inspired drink established and the adapted signatures aligned, the focus shifts to collaboration and storytelling. The resident and Choeng Doi team document recipes, capture photography and video, and record the development process.
Day Four
This is a dedicated R&D day. Raw ingredients are processed, infused, pressed, or adjusted to test balance and integration with the chosen spirit. Small scale prototypes are built and refined. In the afternoon, the resident participates in a cultural craft session with a local artisan, connecting material, patience, and process beyond the bar.
Day Three
The resident explores Chiang Dao’s surrounding landscape through guided foraging and visits to small local producers such as tea growers, honey producers, or citrus farmers. Selected ingredients are evaluated through small scale trials to determine which will form the foundation of the new residency drink.
Day Two
The day is grounded in agriculture. Depending on the selected spirit, the resident visits sugarcane fields or undertakes a rice focused session to understand varietal, harvest, and handling decisions. Wash tasting and discussion of fermentation structure provide context for how flavour and texture are built from the start.
Day One
The residency begins at Choeng Doi Distillery in Chiang Dao with an introduction to the production space, fermentation area, and team. The resident participates in a focused tasting and technical discussion of their chosen spirit, either Choeng Doi Blanc or SONKLIN, followed by a working session to align on the three pre selected signature drinks that will be adapted during the week.
Day Seven
The week concludes with a one night guest shift in Chiang Mai featuring a four drink residency menu. The evening presents the translation of the resident’s bar identity through Northern Thai raw material, connecting Chiang Dao’s agricultural context with urban bar culture.
Who Should Apply
The Choeng Doi Bartender Residency is designed for experienced professionals who are curious about fermentation, production, and raw material.
Ideal applicants include:
• Lead bartenders
• Bar managers
• Beverage directors
The programme suits those interested in depth, structure, and cultural exchange rather than a single night takeover.
Get in Touch
The Choeng Doi Bartender Residency is for professionals who want to work closer to raw material, not further from it.
