Preview: London Cocktail Week 2025
London Cocktail Week organisers Siobhan Payne and Hannah Sharman-Cox tell us what’s in store for this year’s festival, one of the greatest on-trade celebrations in the world.
Like a bottle left open too long, most things lose their fizz over time – but not London Cocktail Week (LCW). Now in its 16th year, the annual on‐trade festival remains as effervescent and delicious as ever, proving that even after more than a decade and a half of operation, the party is far from over.
Taking place throughout the city from 9 to 19 October, all of 2025’s events will be available to holders of this year’s £20 (US$26.85) wristband. “On the whole, we’re keeping it the same,” explains Siobhan Payne, confirming that the long‐standing staple of LCW – the Curated Cocktail Tours – will return, with more than 200 bars in the city offering £9 (US$12) Signature Cocktails, £12 (US$16) Champagne cocktails, and £6 (US$8) non‐alcoholic serves.
Also returning are the Connoisseurs Collection and the Bartenders Knowledge Exchange, two initiatives that debuted two years ago. “In the first year we were a bit ‘is this going to work?’, but by the second year it had really bedded in,” says Payne. “This year, people are really invested and are wanting to do really cool stuff.”
The Bartender Knowledge Exchange offers informal, bar‐based education in place of traditional classroom formats. London bars host small groups to share specific expertise. “Education for the trade has perhaps fallen into a routine of being classroom learning, and there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that,” says Payne. “But we wanted something better suited to the brand of people who work behind the bar – a collection of interesting people, many of whom have their own neurodiversities that don’t necessarily lend themselves to a classroom.” The shift away from a central cocktail village a few years ago gave the double act the flexibility to develop this concept further.
“The Bartender Knowledge Exchange allows bars to pass on a piece of knowledge about a specific topic that is appropriate to them.”
Confirmed sessions include Kevin Armstrong, owner of Satan’s Whiskers bar, on branding, a behind‐the‐scenes back‐of‐house look at The Connaught Bar, and an introduction to profit‐and‐loss accounts hosted by the team at Dram. “The key is it’s in a space where everyone feels a bit more comfortable. It’s gone down really well.”
The Connoisseurs Collection also returns for a third year, highlighting high‐end London bars that offer unique, premium experiences outside of the standard £9 cocktail. “When we were thinking about what we wanted LCW to be, we realised that a big part of London’s cocktail culture is its hotel bars – which can’t, and won’t, serve a £9 cocktail,” they explain. “It’s just not appropriate, and we wouldn’t even ask them to.”
Something special
Instead, the Connoisseurs Collection invites these venues to create something special. “What we ask is that it’s a real treat, something unique that consumers might not be able to try another time,” says Payne. “It can be vintage cocktails or Martinis made from top‐shelf liquid from Salvatore Calabrese – true money‐can’t‐usually‐buy experiences. There are no price limits, and some of them are really expensive. But if you’re a real cocktail connoisseur then that is available to you,” noting that the Connoisseurs Collection has always been a hit with members of the drinks trade, as well as consumers.
“The trade might not be interested so much in the £9 cocktails, but a lot of them are pretty interested in these unique money‐ can’t‐buy opportunities.”
The collection is once again being curated alongside industry expert Anna Sebastian, who the pair felt was the right person for the job, given she is “the face of luxury hospitality”. “She’s a fantastic person to have on board in terms of her knowledge,” they explain.
Adding extra sparkle to this year’s festivities are new initiatives, including the introduction of Tiny Cocktails – a nod to the growing trend for small, well‐made drinks served in elegant miniature glassware. These petite pours will be available for £6, allowing guests to visit more bars and try a greater number of drinks during the festival without overdoing it.
“One thing that’s exciting is that it’s Del Maguey mezcal’s 30th anniversary this year, and they’re celebrating it during LCW,” the organisers say. “They’ll be working with 30 bars to make mini Mezcalitas as part of the tour. So that’s quite a nice thing that’s grown from the tiny cocktails trend, and something we’re looking forward to.”
Also debuting this year is Home Grown, an initiative celebrating products created exclusively in the UK. “We’re working with Angelos Bafas, AKA Mr Ungarnished, who has just written Hyper – a book about using hyper‐local ingredients,” they explain. “He’s going to curate a list of bars serving cocktails made with purely British‐grown ingredients, and a collection of events that celebrate local products. That’s not necessarily liquid – it might be glassware, or foraged ingredients.”
Of course, LCW wouldn’t be complete without its legendary parties and takeovers. A warm‐up event will be held at The Light Bar in Shoreditch on Monday 6 October. “It’s for all the bars taking part – to give them a bit of a knees‐up before the bedlam kicks in on Thursday,” says Sharman‐Cox.
Meanwhile, acclaimed bartender Julio Bermejo will be in town to celebrate 60 years of the Tommy’s Margarita at Café Pacifico on 12 October, and Silver Lyan from Washington DC will take over Side Hustle at the NoMad hotel on 14 October. “We all know how we feel about takeovers,” says Sharman‐Cox, “but we’ve just been saying to everybody: think outside the box a little bit. Layer in the training, layer in the education piece, rather than just bringing 50 drinks to a bar and hoping for the best.”
Flavour workshop
Alongside the Bartender Knowledge Exchange, there will be a full schedule of masterclasses, seminars, and talks for both trade and consumers, such as the UK on‐ trade debut of Johnnie Walker Black Ruby which will be introduced to the trade via a series of events, including a flavour workshop called The Ruby Lounge hosted by Ryan Chetiyawardana.
Perhaps the most significant moment for LCW this year, however, is its official backing from City Hall and the mayor of London. This endorsement was marked at the festival’s Bar Community Action Day in July, where Justine Simons OBE, deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries, spoke powerfully about the festival’s cultural value: “For me cocktails don’t get the recognition they deserve. They bring together artistry, craft and imagination. They have the power to define – or, indeed, redefine a moment.
“Let’s face it – the alchemy of a great night out often starts with a cocktail, which is why London Cocktail Week matters. In this world where we are digitally so connected, but more lonely than ever, it is bringing people together for real human connections. Starting in 2010, it is now the leading cocktail festival of its kind in the world, with 200 bars involved. It’s the blueprint for copycats in hundreds of cities around the world. A brilliant London innovation, exported to the world.”
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