Ecuador’s Quito gets its first cocktail week
Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, will host its inaugural cocktail week from 5 to 11 July.
Bartender, entrepreneur and educator Edwin Lobo, founder of Andes Bar Academy and Código 86 Speakeasy in Quito, has spearheaded the initiative, which aims to strengthen Ecuador’s professional hospitality community and contribute toward developing a distinctive identity for Ecuadorian cocktail culture.
The event will open on 5 July with Andes Shakers, a nationwide competition bringing together bartenders from different regions of Ecuador to showcase their creativity, technical skills and innovation before a panel of industry experts.
The Quito Cocktail Week Congress will take place on 6-8 July at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. During the main event, leading Ecuadorian and international professionals will share lectures, panel discussions and networking opportunities focused on hospitality, business management, sustainability and more.
Alongside the educational programming, Quito Cocktail Week will host a series of experiences across the city.
“More than just an event, we aim to build a platform that drives the industry’s growth,” said Lobo. “We want to demonstrate that it is possible to build solid projects that raise hospitality standards in Ecuador.”
One of the themes explored throughout the first Quito Cocktail Week will be Ecuador’s potential as a gastronomic and cultural destination, spotlighting the country’s diversity of ingredients, producers and traditions.
Ecuador is home to more than 50 Indigenous communities.
National and international brands confirmed to participate include Gin Horizonte, Ron Abuelo, Citadelle Gin, Planteray Rum and Bodega Overproof.
The event will extend Andes Bar Academy’s philosophy of ‘understanding hospitality as a tool for both professional and community development’.
“We always say that the bar is culture,” Lobo explained.
Fellow South American city Medellín hosted its cocktail week in June. Further afield, cocktail festivals have recently been held in Serbia’s Belgrade and Croatia’s Zagreb.
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