THE WORLD’S LEADING COCKTAIL FESTIVAL CELEBRATES A MILESTONE YEAR, RAISING A GLASS WITH £8 SIGNATURE COCKTAILS FROM LONDON’S MOST PIONEERING BARS

London Cocktail Week, the world’s original cocktail festival, will mark its 15th year, returning to the capital from 3rd-13th October 2024. Celebrating the city’s revered reputation as a global capital of cocktail culture, this year’s festival sees the return of its Connoisseur’s Collection – a series of unique events for the most dedicated cocktail enthusiasts introduced last year – alongside its celebrated Curated Cocktail Tours, which offer drinks for £8 across London’s top bars to those with a London Cocktail Week wristband. Continuing its commitment to supporting the city’s bar industry, 2024 will see the festival operate as not-for-profit, with funds redirected back to the participating bars.

A popular mainstay of London Cocktail Week since its inception, the Curated Cocktail Tours will involve hundreds of bars across the city offering £8 Signature Cocktails, that have been specially created for the duration of the festival. Cocktail lovers will be able to explore and experience the very best of London’s vibrant bar scene by making their way through the curated selection of participating bars, with the Signature Cocktails available to anyone who shows their festival wristband. Acclaimed venues already confirmed to be taking part include award-winning cocktail bars Side Hustle, KOL Mezcaleria, Swift, Blue Bar at the Berkeley, Hacha and Nipperkin, as well as brand new bars such as Archive & Myth, Dram and Twice Shy, with many more yet to be announced.

Wristbands are priced at just £20 and are available to buy either in advance online, or at the bars themselves during the festival. Each wristband is valid for the duration of the 11-day festival, and festivalgoers will also receive a complimentary printed London Cocktail Week guidebook. As part of London Cocktail Week’s not-for-profit commitment, bars will retain the full ticket fee for any wristbands sold on site.

THE CONNOISSEUR’S COLLECTION AND BARTENDER KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME WILL BOTH RETURN THIS YEAR AS PART OF LONDON COCKTAIL WEEK

Following its inaugural and celebrated run last year, the Connoisseur’s Collection will also return for 2024, offering a programme of exclusive, reservation-only events held at a handful of London’s most prestigious bar venues. Each intimate experience will represent the very pinnacle of cocktail service, with events including one-off tastings, unique cocktail flights, dinners, takeovers and masterclasses led by world-leading, award-winning bartenders.

As a not-for-profit event, London Cocktail Week is looking to support the people behind the city’s incredible bar industry more than ever before. Earlier this July, the festival hosted its inaugural Futureproofing London Bars event, which saw teams from the festival’s 200-strong bar line-up come together for a full-day’s programme of conversation and listening sessions in partnership with The Mayor of London’s Office and Diageo GB, which aimed to put bartenders and operators at the forefront of discussions about the industry’s future. City Hall has already created tangible action points from the valuable conversations that took place, with more than 50 bar owners in attendance on the day.

During London Cocktail Week itself, the hugely popular Bartender Knowledge Exchange programme will return for a second year. Giving bartenders visiting the city from around the world the chance to learn from some of the very best in the business, the series offers experiential learning on-site at some of London’s most celebrated bars. Opportunities will include the likes of back-of-house tours, exclusive tastings and talks, and a ‘Seat at the Bar’, a bar seat at top tier venues that is bookable exclusively for bartenders, to allow them to watch their peers at work.

London Cocktail Week 2024 will take place from 3rd-13th October, and wristbands are now available to buy HERE

Photo Credit: London Cocktail Week/Charlie McKay