SONKLIN Weeks Turns Chiang Mai into a Citywide Cocktail Trail

Chiang Mai bars come together for SONKLIN Weeks, a cocktail trail rooted in rice and place

SONKLIN, a rice spirit distilled from Sanpatong sticky rice, a variety long associated with Northern Thailand

In Chiang Mai, where cocktail culture has grown increasingly confident and locally grounded, a new collaboration is inviting drinkers to explore the city one glass at a time. From January 18 to February 1, 2026, Choeng Doi Distillery is bringing together seven of the city’s most distinctive bars for SONKLIN Weeks, a two-week celebration centered on a single spirit and many different interpretations.

At the heart of the event is SONKLIN, a rice spirit distilled from Sanpatong sticky rice, a variety long associated with Northern Thailand. Rather than positioning the spirit as something to be showcased in one fixed way, SONKLIN Weeks hands it over to Chiang Mai’s bartenders and lets them tell their own stories. Each participating bar has created a signature cocktail using SONKLIN, drawing on its own identity, philosophy, and approach to local ingredients.

Botanical Bay by Brine

Peanut by Bar Not Found

The lineup reads like a cross-section of Chiang Mai’s contemporary bar scene. Bar Not Found brings its color-driven, conceptual approach to flavor. BRINE leans into modern techniques and locally sourced produce. The Continental Bar, tucked away in Nimman Soi 5, filters Chiang Mai through a cinematic lens, translating atmosphere into the glass.

Bar Foucault plays with twisted classics shaped by ideas of perception and visibility. Ban San balances Japanese precision with Scandinavian restraint. THUUB offers an intimate, softly lit space inspired by Northern Thai village life. The White Rabbit rounds things out with its ever-changing, seasonally driven cocktail style.

Phenomenon by Bar Foucault

Kao-Soi by The Continental Bar

What ties these very different spaces together is a shared material: Sanpatong sticky rice, interpreted through SONKLIN’s clean, lightly aromatic profile. Guests are encouraged to move between bars, not just to drink, but to notice how the same base spirit can shift character depending on setting, technique, and intention.

Adding a playful layer to the experience is the SONKLIN Passport. Available at all participating bars, it allows guests to collect stamps by ordering each venue’s SONKLIN cocktail. Five stamps unlock a complimentary tour at Choeng Doi Distillery, while completing all seven comes with additional rewards, including exclusive SONKLIN merchandise. It’s a simple mechanic, but one that nudges people to explore neighborhoods and bars they might not otherwise visit.

Choeng Doi Distillery sits at the foot of Doi Luang, surrounded by rice fields and longan orchards

The distillery itself sits at the foot of Doi Luang, surrounded by rice fields and longan orchards. Its philosophy is firmly rooted in locality. Ingredients are grown on-site or sourced within a two-hour radius, not as a marketing gesture, but as a way to express terroir. From the specific Sanpatong rice varietal to the surrounding flora that influences fermentation, SONKLIN is shaped by Northern Thailand’s soil, climate, and biodiversity.

SONKLIN Weeks feels less like a brand activation and more like a snapshot of where Chiang Mai’s bar culture is right now. Confident, collaborative, and deeply tied to place, it’s an invitation to taste the city through its people, its rice, and the many stories that can be told with a single spirit.

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