Unmissable London Cocktail Week events

Europe’s biggest cocktail festival will once again be taking over London with an itinerary jam-packed with pop-up bars and parties. This is our selection of the best events for the trade.

There are a number of fun and insightful events for trade members at London Cocktail Week

Set to take place from 5-11 October, London Cocktail Week (LCW) will, for the first time, feature a Cocktail Village taking over the entire Old Spitalfields Market in East London.

Overlooking the Cocktail Village will be The House of Angostura pop-up, which will host a party every night with DJs and an array of Angostura cocktails.

Guests will also be able to indulge in the luxury World Class London Cocktail Week Hub at Soho’s Vinyl Factory.

“Having hit record numbers in 2014 with more than 22,000 guests attending the festival, we knew that London Cocktail Week was ready to move to an ever bigger home,” commented Siobhan Payne, festival director of London Cocktail Week. “The London Cocktail Week Village in Old Spitalfields Market and the much bigger World Class London Cocktail Week Hub in Soho is definitely going to take the festival to that next level.”

For consumers keen to discover new watering holes, cocktail tours will once again be available to introduce LCW guests to some of the city’s best bars. Wristbands cost £10 and are available from Londoncocktailweek.com, entitling guests to £5 cocktails at all partner venues.

However, there are a number of fun and fascinating events planned to engage bartenders, brands, entrepreneurs and journalists.

From additional trade fairs to seminars on how to become a successful bar owner, London Cocktail Week has so much more to give than discount drinks – though the trade can of course enjoy these too.

Click through the following pages to discover our selection of London Cocktail Week events bartenders, brands and journos would be a fool to miss.

Underground Punch Pong League

The UK final for this beer pong style tournament – which has quickly gained near-legendary status in the industry – will be held on Monday 5 October at 7pm. Come and see some of the industry’s finest bartenders battle it out in the tournament, which swaps beer London Cocktail Club’s Black Pearl Punch in a straight knockout style tournament. A few enthusiastic journos will take the pong challenge on in the Magazine Mash Up. Things are bound to get messy.

For more information, click here

TWE Show

Following its consumer event on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October, The Whisky Exchange Show will be opening its doors to the trade and press only on Monday 5 October. Featuring a plethora of masterclasses, seminars and tastings, this is a chance to meet the people behind the drinks brands as well as the buyers, distributors, bartenders and writers who make the industry what it is.

For more information, click here

From Bartender to Bar Owner

Sponsored by Bombay Sapphire, this seminar will be held from 12.15pm on Thursday 8 October and will shed some insight on making the leap from being the person behind the bar, to owing it. A number of speakers from famous venues including Little Red Door and Le Syndicat will share The panel will share the high risks they took to open and run their own operations in the emerging and innovative Parisian bar scene. The team intend to share the good, the bad and the ugly of creating a concept, finding business partners, the hiring of staff, the joys of accountancy, whilst at the same time developing profitable margins.

For more information, click here

Craft Distilling Expo

Trade fair the Craft Distilling Expo will take place at the Boiler House in the Old Truman Brewery on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October, featuring a number of masterclasses, seminars and debates. The event will bring together craft master distillers, still makers, connoisseurs and other professions to network and share knowledge on how to develop the already rapidly growing craft spirits movement.

For more information, click here.

Cultivating the All-Star Bar Team

The best bartenders in the business are building themselves a celebrity-like status – but there is much more that goes on behind the scenes to turn a venue into a success. A solid group of team players are needed transform a good bar into something great, and from 3.30pm to 4.15pm on Thursday the crew behind New York will be deliberating the essential staffing components that make the world’s best bars. Speaking at this seminar will be Leo Robitschek from Nomad, Nico De Soto from Mace, Ivy Mix from Leyenda and co-founder of Speedrack, Joaquin Simo from Pouring Ribbons, Don Lee from Boilermaker and Alex Day from , Nitecap and 151, who will cover topics including hiring practices, on-going management tools and strategies to motivate staff to give it their all.

For more information, click here

Thirsty for Design

One of the world’s most revered bartenders, Alex Kratena, of Artesian, will be leading the Thirsty for Design seminar on Friday, so keep your diary free from 1pm-1.45pm. Kratena will be divulging details of his creative approach as well as the lengths he and his bar team go to in researching their menu including collaborations and the making of the venue’s bespoke vessels.

For more information, click here

Punch – The Long History & the Bright Future of the Flowing Bowl

Once upon a time, Punch was the go-to cocktail choice of those living in Europe and North America. But the drink was side-lined as imbibers embraced the classic cocktail renaissance. However, Punch’s luck is turning again and some of the industry’s top bartenders are breathing new life into the forgotten tipple. Industry veterans Jim Meehan and Jacob Briars will take a look at the cocktail’s history, exploring the role rum has played as a particular favourite base spirit for Punch, in addition to other ingredients needed to craft the “perfect drink”.

For more information, click here

LCW Closing Afterparty at NOLA

Round off London Cocktail Week 2015 in style at the official afterparty on Friday at NOLA. The award-winning New Orleans-inspired cocktail joint will be hosting its second annual Sunday night lock in from 8pm to 3am.

For more information, click here