The 8th edition of West Africa’s largest and most anticipated cocktail event comes with a larger boom than ever. The theme for this year is “Behind the Bars, Drinks, and Brands“. Guests can expect to witness some of the city’s greatest bartenders and cocktail makers go to great measures to provide exhilarating cocktail experiences by showcasing their expertise in each glass of beverage, via contests, and master classes.
The Lagos Cocktail Week has focused on connecting and engaging enthusiastic cocktail connoisseurs, while also fostering a thriving community and legacy of information exchange that will help influence the future of cocktails in Nigeria. The Lagos Cocktail Week continues to be Nigeria’s foremost event for cocktail culture, promoting new trends and providing a much-needed venue for inspiration to a diverse audience.
This year’s event will include more female bartenders than ever before, with an emphasis on recognizing women’s work in the industry. The event’s organizers feel this is a step toward making the cocktail business more inclusive and friendly to all. This year’s festival adopts an indigenous approach with African-influenced cocktail expressions, with an African-inspired cocktail line-up. The 9-day event, which will take place from October 14th to October 22nd, 2022, promises an even more remarkable lineup of classic seminars, masterclasses, incredible side attractions, and an elite guest-speaker roster.
This year’s Bar-Hop feature, sponsored by MasterCard, will continue throughout the cocktail week, presenting excellent bars around Lagos, as well as their distinctive African-infused specialty cocktail concoctions. For guests to enjoy, there will also be lectures, workshops, and drink experiences crafted by the partner businesses. Absolut Vodka, Ballentine’s, Martell, Olmeca Tequila, Nestle Water, Monin, Beefeater Gin, Fayrouz, Desperadoes, Star Radler, Johnnie Walker, Singleton, Captain Morgan, and Gordon’s are among the partner brands. Sterling Bank and the Balmoral Convention Centre are also partners.
The unique Cocktail Village feature, a special portion of the week, will be held from October 20th to 21st at the Balmoral Convention Center and will give a more immersive experience of cocktail culture. A conference will be held in the morning beginning at 11 a.m. Doors will open at 3 p.m. for cocktail enthusiasts to enjoy complimentary drinks, networking, music, games, a bar war, and much more. Dr. Wale Anifowoshe, Remy Savage, Lola Pedro, and Kevin Conroy are among the international cocktail, bar, and beverage industry heavyweights who will speak.
The festival has grown gradually since its beginning eight years ago, with over 1000 individuals attending the most recent event. This year’s event is likely to draw even more visitors owing to its emphasis on inclusivity and women in the industry, as well as the manner we want to highlight African-inspired specialities.
“I am very enthusiastic about this year’s edition since the ratio of female bartenders participating in the bar fight has grown from 1% last year“, said Lara Rawa, Founder of Lagos Cocktail Week. “We will also have an African-inspired cocktail menu selected by our partner establishments, who were picked expressly for their expertise to create unusual blends. This year’s seminars will be fascinating and educational, and we expect our partner businesses to offer an immersive activity to the cocktail village. We are delighted to see Mastercard supporting SMEs by sponsoring the cocktail conference.”
The Lagos Cocktail Week has been planned with guests in mind: there will be live music and food vendors selling delectable refreshments throughout the event. Guests with wristbands will receive three rounds of premium drinks throughout the event and will be able to purchase additional cocktails at significantly discounted prices. There will be plenty of mocktails for those who do not drink alcohol.