London Cocktail Week moves to March 2027
London Cocktail Week (LCW) will move from its traditional October slot to March from 2027 as it returns to the ownership of founders Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhán Payne.
Sharman-Cox and Payne announced they had agreed to buy London Cocktail Week from Pernod Ricard-owned Speciality Drinks last year. The deal was completed today (2 February).
The festival was founded in 2010 and joined the Speciality Drinks portfolio four years later.
Following discussions with leading members of London’s on-trade, Sharman-Cox and Payne have made the decision to move the festival to spring.
The 17th edition will be held during the week commencing 15 March 2027. There will not be a London Cocktail Week in 2026.
October has become a hugely busy month for the capital’s on-trade with key international trade shows such as Bar Convent Berlin.
Sharman-Cox said: “When London Cocktail Week launched in 2010, October was the ideal fit – a quieter time for London bars and well-aligned with the UK events calendar. Sixteen years on, the global events landscape is far more crowded.
“Talking to our peers, we believe switching up the dates is necessary, returning the week to a time when trade is quieter and it’s beneficial to bars to drive consumer audiences into venues.”
The festival dates have also been selected to avoid Easter for the foreseeable future.
Payne added: “We’re thrilled to see the acquisition completed today. Having full ownership puts us in a position to make decisions that will benefit the festival and the wider industry alike.
“Changing the dates feels like the right move in every respect, and we’re excited to turn our focus to London Cocktail Week, spring 2027.”
The pair hope to ensure the festival maintains its position as the world’s leading cocktail celebration in the years to come and are committed to evolving the event for the future.
Last year’s festival took place from 9 to 19 October with more than 200 bars in the city offering cocktails from £9 (US$12) for signature serves to £12 (US$16) for Champagne cocktails. Non-alcoholic options were also available for £6 (US$8).
New dates offer more visibility and promotion
A month after the 2025 festival, Sharman-Cox and Payne invited leading bar operators in London to consider the future of the event over an exclusive dinner, held in Zuma’s flagship restaurant in Knightsbridge.
The discussion included Sharman-Cox and Payne, alongside Elliot Ball, owner of The Cocktail Trading Co and Murder Inc, Kevin Armstrong, owner of Satan’s Whiskers, Richard Wynne, owner of Callooh Callay, Coral Anderson, owner of Swift, Jack Sotti, director of Archive & Myth, Diana Kinkally, owner of Bar Kinky, and Pawel Rolka, regional head of bars at Zuma.
The consensus regarding the dates of the festival is that March and April are a quieter time for venues when they could benefit from more visibility and promotion.
It was also noted that October has become the second-busiest month for the hospitality sector, after December. The festival has played a key role in driving footfall to venues during October.
The October timing of the festival is also a challenge for bars and brands to plan ahead for the festival during busy summer schedules.
With the festival under their ownership, Sharman-Cox and Payne now have the flexibility to make major changes to the event to better serve the industry.
The discussion also explored how the event’s structure could be adapted to potentially include a trade-dedicated session.
In recent years, the festival has grown its support of the on-trade. One major development has been allowing bars that take part in the event to sell wristbands to the festival and keep all profits.
Both Sharman-Cox and Payne hope to continue to support the industry through education. The duo have added in new initiatives in recent years such as the Connoisseurs Collection and the Bartender Knowledge Exchange.
The Connoisseurs Collection highlights high‐end London bars that offer unique, premium experiences outside of the standard £9 (US$12) cocktail, while the Bartender Knowledge Exchange offers informal, bar‐based education in place of traditional classroom formats.
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