What’s happening at London Cocktail Week this year? Founders Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhan Payne fill us in.
It’s the 15th annual London Cocktail Week – we’re not sure whether that counts as a bit of a milestone? We’ll take it if so. Every year we say this festival is the one we’re the most proud of so far. And actually, we do mean it every time. But this year it’s a good’un. Best yet. Definitely.
And not just because this is the year in which Class’s editor, Hamish Smith, will be making his bartending debut (well – debut if we’re not counting a failed pub trial shift in 2003). Read to the end for details of that particular event.
In previous years, we’ve measured the festival’s success on its size – is it the biggest/loudest/ sparkliest it can be? But now “best” to us means something diff erent. Now we ask ourselves: is it a genuine representation of what makes this industry so brilliant? Does it attract the sorts of guests we all want in our bars meaning a diverse set of interested individuals who have a genuine respect for what we do? Does it support and give back to the trade?
A change of ownership a few years ago has meant the festival now runs as a non-profit event. So, while supporting the bar industry has always been incredibly important, now it underpins absolutely every decision we make. This has resulted in some changes behind the scenes – and you may have even noticed a shift in our messaging on social media, thanks to the wonderful Rebekkah Dooley and Roman Shabodalov. Our advertising campaigns now all feature London's talented bartenders, as photographed by the talented Addie Chinn during a brilliant shoot earlier in the year.
We have also made a change to allow every bar taking part to sell wristbands for £20 to consumers during the festival and retain all revenue from doing so. We redirect any additional funds from the festival overall into worthy partnerships, which this year means a collaboration with Equal Measures to cement our long-term commitment to contribute to a fundamental change in the UK hospitality industry and see fully intersectional diversity in cocktail bars, drinks brands and beyond. We’re also working more closely with City Hall and the mayor’s office to ensure support for bar owners.
In July this year we ran our first Future-proofing London Bars event in partnership with Diageo UK to listen to, learn from and support those within the hospitality industry, which will be something we continue to host in years to come.
If you can get some time off to come to London to experience the festival please do and see what we’re all up to.
So what is there to do? Well, all people who work in a bar are eligible for free wristbands. These give access to the Curated Cocktail Tours – £8 Signature Cocktails in 200 bars, handpicked by us. You get a guidebook with your wristband, which this year includes details of a Signature Cocktail for each and every one of the bars participating. (Yes. Every single bar confirmed their cocktails by the print deadline.)
Engaging sessions
Beyond the Curated Cocktail Tours, there are some formal opportunities to engage with the festival. We’re thrilled that Pernod Ricard UK is relaunching its SIP (Share. Inspire. Pioneer.) platform during the week with two days of spectacular sessions on 7 and 8 October. Gone are the days of branded info classes – the schedule for the SIP sessions includes conversations about AI in hospitality, the value of an inclusive team and whether consumers even care about mixology. Speakers include Steve Olsen, Joerg Meyer, Doug McMaster and many more.
Alongside that absolute highlight is a part of the schedule we’ve curated ourselves – The Bartender Knowledge Exchange. This is the second year of the programme and it’s designed to off er unrivalled access pre-shift to the great brains behind some of the world’s best bars based here in London. We have a behind-the-scenes look at The Connaught and Lyaness, a 101 session with Satan’s Whiskers, menu development at Seed Library, a taste session with Michael Sager and Carina Soto Velásques from Equal Parts and way more. Each session is just for a handful of people, so it’s worth signing up sharpish.
Because London Cocktail Week doesn’t keep us quite busy enough, this year the two of us, alongside Dan Dove of Global Bartending, launched a bar recognition system called The Pinnacle Guide with our fi rst list of Pinned bars in May. All of our Pinned bars in London are taking part in the festival in some way. That may be as part of our Curated Cocktail Tours, our Connoisseur’s Collection, or as part of our inaugural Pinnacle Tour, during which we’re going to take a small group of people round to some of our Pinned bars and chat through what makes them so great.
And takeovers this year? Yes of course. It wouldn’t be a Cocktail Week without them. We’re excited to be welcoming plenty of teams from around the world, including NYC’s Dead Rabbit, Melbourne’s Caretaker’s Cottage and Rome’s REM, as well as some home-grown talent including Cardiff ’s Penny Bar, Manchester’s Blinker and Leeds’ Tabula Rasa.
But the takeover that will potentially end all takeovers? Yes, your very own Hamish Smith will be putting his money where his mouth (or pen) is and will be doing his first ever takeover, alongside his editorial companion, Shay Waterworth of Drinks International – ShayMish Behind the Stick, if you will. The same night (11 October) and the same venue (Nobu Portman Square) will see takeovers by ourselves (returning by unpopular demand), plus Gary and Sandrae of The Cocktail Lovers and a DJ set by not-a-real-DJ Jake F Burger. We can’t wait to celebrate with you all.