Plans for the inaugural Australian Cocktail Month are moving along well according to organiser Penny Sippe, who told The Shout that this Friday, 22 January, will be the final day that brands will be able to sign up for the national celebration of cocktails and bars.
So far a wide range of local and international brands have signed up to Australian Cocktail Month, but Penny said she wants to make sure venues and bartenders will have time to work with the brands to create fabulous cocktails.
“It’s been going really well,” Penny told Bars and Clubs, “there are lots of products on-board already, but I’m just letting people know that Friday is the last day to get in touch if you want to be involved.
“Each brand that comes on-board will get one hero venue in each state. So the more brands that get involved then the more venues we will need, which is cool, but we’ve just got to make sure we have the time to partner the most appropriate brands to the venues.”
She added: “So far the international brands we have getting involved are Buffalo Trace, Diplomatico Rum, Plantation Rum, Patron, Bombay Bramble, Monkey 47, Glenfiddich, Hendrick’s, Monkey Shoulder, Sailor Jerry and Ailsa Bay, which is fantastic.
“Then locally we’ve got Starward, Australian Hills delivery Better Gin, Never Never and The Melbourne Gin Company.
“Then we’ve got an additional category for liqueurs and all the things that go into delicious cocktails and so far we’ve got Mr Black Coffee Liqueur, Mancino Vermouth and Crawley’s Simple Syrups Co.
“It’s great having all those brands on-board and then I’m just going to be calling lots of people in the next few days.
“So really the key message for me is that if you want to be involved then just please make sure you’ve reached out or are in discussion with me by Friday.”
Penny also said you can follow what’s happening with Australian Cocktail Month through its Facebook and Instagram pages, and you can stay up to date with all the plans by signing up to the newsletter through the website.
Australian Cocktail Month will be taking place in May this year with each brand working with a venue in each state to create an amazing drinks menu. Penny told Bars and Clubs, one of the reasons that she chose May to run the event, was that it would give venues and brands the opportunity to work together and host events during the month.
“One of the reasons we’re doing this in May is that there is Cinco de Mayo, International Cocktail Day, World Whisky Day and Mother’s Day. So there are lots of activities and reasons for people to get out and enjoy Australia’s bars. The bars and the brands will have lots of opportunities to create experiences that consumers are going to want to come to.”
And while COVID is still a concern, Penny said one of the reasons for developing Australian Cocktail Month was to help encourage people to get back out and enjoy Australia’s bars. By doing that they are still able to work through whatever the restrictions will be, rather than organising a big outdoor event, which may or may not be able to go ahead and which heaps extra pressure on everyone that is involved.
“Even if the current restrictions are still around, people can still go out and have an amazing time in a venue,” Penny told Bars and Clubs. “We’ll also be promoting this to the public and saying, don’t just go out on Friday or Saturday night, go out on a Tuesday or a Wednesday night as well, and that way we can really spread the flow of people into the venue.
“So people can still go into any of Australia’s beautiful bars and have an amazing experience. Yes, you can make a cocktail at home, but we’re reminding people that’s not being like hosted by professionals and having a beautiful environment, being greeted enthusiastically and looked after with amazing service.”
Well said Penny. You can head to the Australian Cocktail Month website to subscribe to the newsletter and follow the social media channels, or contact penny@australiancocktailmonth.com.au to get involved.