Serbia’s Belgrade to host cocktail forum
Bartender’s Circle is a new event organised by the team behind Belgrade Cocktail Fest and bartender Vladimir Simić.
Simić is the former bar manager at Belgrade’s Josephine bar.
Beginning Monday 17 November, Bartender’s Circle is both a conference and a citywide guest-shift series.
The event will open at the city’s Sava Centar, with a day of lectures and discussions covering women in hospitality, trends for 2026, crisis management in the bar industry and more.
Dr Irena Djordjević, a psychiatry specialist and certified psychotherapist in transactional analysis, will deliver a lecture on mental health in hospitality. Her talk will focus on preventing burnout, maintaining balance in a demanding industry, and building a culture that supports professional and personal growth.
Meanwhile, Anja Tojčić, co-owner of Q Bar and Best Bartender of Belgrade 2024, will host a panel on the topic of women in the on-trade. She will be joined by Nora Koufou of Line Athens; Raiza Carrera, named Best Bartender in Spain 2023 and head of Agite Club; Claudia Orlandi, a food and wine journalist; Milica Aleksić, an expert in gastronomy and hotel, restaurant and catering management; and Andrijana Pjeović, a young Belgrade bartender, winner of the Regional Bartender Competition.
Other topics will include AI and cocktails, ready-to-drink (RTD) and low-and-no trends, menu personalisation and technology, as well as discussions on how to maintain quality in times of cost-cutting, focusing on creativity in sourcing and innovation within the industry.
The day’s event will close with an invitation to the 2026 Belgrade Cocktail Festival, which will be held on 6 June.
The guest shifts will kick off on 16 November, with the city’s Isabel Speakeasy hosting Bokamorra from Split in Croatia.
On 17 November, Bokamorra will head to Belgrade’s vinyl izakaya and bar, Kissa10. Meanwhile, the teams from Line and Naked in Athens, alongside Raiza Carrera, will descend on Dragoljub New Balkan Cuisine.
On the same night, mixologist and author Diego Ferrari will have a guest shift at Isabel Speakeasy.
Finally, on 18 November, Dragoljub New Balkan Cuisine will host Sentaku Izakaya from Bologna in Italy.
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