World Class Cocktail Week is coming up in Melbourne from 4-10 April, with Sydney to follow from May 9–15.
The week-long calendar of events encourages cafés, bars and restaurants to create activities that highlight “quality drinks experiences” as well as the strengths of the participating businesses.
With specially created cocktail-themed events all around Melbourne, the calendar will be released on 18 March, with plenty aimed at appealing to the trade as well as consumers.
The events have been divided into three categories to make them easier to navigate: Taste, How To, and Party. The Taste category will see events that focus on how the right choice of a food dish can enhance a cocktail experience, so expect food pairing events and tasting sessions – 2015 saw a Japanese Cocktail High Tea put on. The How To category focuses on education sessions run by industry-leading bartenders; while the Party category will showcase venues in their best light with a range of interesting theme nights, and of course great drinks.
Registrations are still open for Sydney – until 21 March – with interested parties able to register their events here.
World Class Cocktail Week is run in tandem with the World Class cocktail competition, which sees bartenders from around the world compete across a range of challenging tasks. The Australian branch of the competition has announced the Top 100 competitors, with those bartenders set to fight it out for a spot in the Top 25 and a place in the Grand Final in April.