The annual World Class Cocktail Week returns to Australia this May, with seven days of masterclasses, tastings and tutorials by some of Australia’s best bartenders and chefs. With over 100 experiences across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the event runs from 7–13 May, culminating on World Cocktail Day.
“Shining a light on some of Australia’s best hospitality talent, World Class Cocktail Week celebrates the skill, creativity and inspiration that goes into creating cocktails. The events provide a fantastic opportunity for venues to showcase what they are best at and guests to experience cocktails in new, fun and interactive ways,” said Australia’s World Class ambassador Natalie Ng.
More than forty events will be held across Sydney during the course of the week. Three Bondi venues will join forces for a three-course roaming dinner, with each dish and matching cocktail served at a different restaurant on the same block – Neighbourhood, Drake and Milky Lane. This Must Be The Place will present a multiple course exploration, while Longrain will serve up a specially created banquet matched with unique Asian-inspired cocktails.
Sydneysiders can also enjoy an Italian Happy Hour, complete with aperitivo, mortadella and meatballs, at Maybe Frank, learn how to make margaritas and tacos at home with Barrio Cellar, or sample artisan gelato paired (and created) with Scotch whisky at The Wild Rover.
Melbourne offers another forty bespoke cocktail experiences including a journey through the world of whisky at 1806, a boat cruise with a three-course feast by Vaporetto Bar & Eatery and a cocktail-matched, five-course degustation at Hochi Mama. Melbournians can learn how to use native Australian ingredients in cocktails at Bad Frankie, taste ‘Seven Cocktails in Seven Days’ at The Ugly Duckling and celebrate the Negroni at Nieuw Amsterdam.
In Brisbane, there will be a cocktail menu designed by some of Brisbane’s best at The Bowery, while at Pony Dining attendees will be able to select their own botanicals to create a gin and tonic and at Buffalo Bar pair a classic American Reuben Sandwich with a World Class Boilermaker cocktail. For southern US flavours, Seymour’s Cocktails and Oysters will host a New Orleans cocktail dinner inspired by historic New Orleans bars and restaurants, while The Cobbler will present an in-depth masterclass on creating whisky cocktails from the home kitchen.
World Class Cocktail Week will also see two of Australia’s most acclaimed bars swap residence for two nights, with bartenders from Melbourne’s Black Pearl will trade places with the team from Sydney’s Bulletin Place.