By Sacha Delfosse
Merivale held a First Class themed party at Hemmesphere last night (April 28), with pilots and hostesses serving cocktails and canapés to a full house of weary travellers, who flew in despite stormy conditions, to help celebrate the launch of World Cocktail Week.
Officially kicking off on May 5 and culminating on World Cocktail Day on May 13, Merivale has planned a host of events for this year's World Cocktail Week, while each of the company’s eleven venues have been assigned a different cocktail related country, including Cuba, France, Mexico, USA and the UK, which will be serving signature drinks to match.
As part of the celebration of all things cocktail, patrons will be able to attend cocktail masterclasses at various venues, as well as gaining an appreciation for the ‘classics’ at the Vintage Cocktail night or receive some pointers on suave style at the Gentleman's Finishing School.
One highlight will be The Magnificent 7 'Live' cocktail mixing competition that will feature some of the best mixologists in the country. The World Cocktail Week is a great way to raise the bar in terms of industry education and consumer awareness of the cocktail, according to Merivale's group bar manager, Mike Enright.
“Each year, World Cocktail Week becomes bigger and better with more events and classes on the calendar educating both the industry and the consumer, which is great. The best part is that we get to profile some of the industry's most skilled bartenders along the way,” Enright explained.