Photography: DrinkUp.London
Woah London Cocktail Week, you’re totally spoiling us with all of the cocktail loving goodness you’ve crammed into the next seven days. We’re positively giddy with excitement just looking at the jam-packed calendar– it’s going to take some serious planning to make sure we fit everything in. Which is why we consider it our duty to say: people of London and further afield (why should you be excluded from the biggest party of the year?), STOP EVERYTHING! If you haven’t got your LCW wristband yet, you’d better get your A-frames into gear because, trust us, there’s going to be some serious FOMO going down if you don’t.
Remember being at or hearing about last year’s amazingness? Well, times that by at least four. For this the seventh annual LCW running from 3rd to 9th October things have been amplified big time. That includes the awesome London Cocktail Week Village at Old Spitalfields Market where you’ll find all kinds of inventive goings on, including the Cahoot’s train carriage that you can step inside for Bombay Sapphire cocktails, and a recreation of what must have been the first pop-up ever, the life-size Cointreau bottle from 1904. There’s the Coffee Project from Tia Maria, Miami Beach cocktails with Bacardí, the Drink London stand showcasing the delights of the ever-so fab spirits made within the M25 and your chance to taste cocktails mixed by the best bartenders in the world at the Patrón Cocktail Lab. In fact the entire market will be a-buzz with pop-up bars, trucks, vans, even bicycles all serving stunning drinks for £5.
That’s in the East. Over in the West End, slap bang in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, there’s the World Class House, another must-visit destination during the week. Book up for luxury drink experiences such as the future of Bloody Marys with Ketel One Vodka, bespoke gin cocktails with Tanqueray No. TEN and barrel-aged coffee cocktails at the Bulleit Barista Booth.
We haven’t even started on the bar tours and parties running throughout the week. So rather than highlight them all here, we’ll be bringing you our picks for each day (the day before, to give you a heads-up if that makes sense) for consumers as well as the trade.
First things first though we suggest signing up for your wristbands pronto – they’re only £10, that’s less than £1.50 a day, bargain! Get yours here.
And remember to pick up your complimentary copy of the brand new issue of The Cocktail Lovers Magazine, available in Old Spitalfields Market, the World Class House and participating LCW bars. #You’rewelcome!
