A cocktail festival in one of London’s prettiest locations? How could we refuse?
As we count down (constantly!) to June 21st, we’re happy for any upgrade that we can get on the now-familiar alfresco drinking experience – and it looks like those behind the UK’s leading cocktail festival, Cocktails In The City, are more than happy to help.
The very week before the UK makes it’s so-called return to normality, Cocktails In The City will be descending on the beautiful Bedford Square Gardens for an event that looks to celebrate London’s vibrant bar scene.
The idea is that mixologists from many of London’s best-loved bars will set up shop between 17th and 19th June, giving guests the chance to reacquaint themselves with their long-missed cocktail menus before COVID-19 restrictions are lifted on the following Monday.
Over fifty different bars have already signed up for the event, including Coupette, Bar Swift, Bourne & Hollingwood and Nightjar, all serving up their own signature concoctions to festival attendees. Of course, there will also be food on offer at the event – from many of London’s award-winning street food vendors, no less.
And let’s not forget that no festival would be complete without live entertainment! According to the Cocktails In The City site, there will be live music throughout the event, though exact performers are yet to be announced. In any case, it sounds like it’s going to be a pretty great experience all round.
If you needed any further persuasion to book a ticket, 10% of the revenue from tickets sold to the event will go to The Drinks Trust, an organisation established to help bar owners who have lost out or have struggled financially due to the pandemic. As businesses across the nation prepare to get back up and running to full capacity, it goes without saying that this sort of financial assistance to those in hospitality is more important than ever.
Due to the date of the festival falling just short of the full lifting of restrictions, it’s likely that there will still be COVID-safe measures in place, though there’s little word yet on what measures these will be. However, given we’ve all been drinking alfresco at COVID-safe venues aplenty across the last year, we’re sure that a little more social distancing won’t dampen the mood at all.
The 17th – 19th June event isn’t your only opportunity to enjoy Cocktails In The City, either, as the festival is set to return twice more before the end of the summer. Further events will take place on July 23rd & 24th and August 20th & 21st, with the first of these later events set to take on a vibrant global theme, celebrating all the international food and drink that we’ve had less opportunity to enjoy due to travel restrictions over the last year.
We’re into it. One Pornstar Martini, please!
Tickets for all Cocktails In The City’s London events are available here.
Read More: 2020’s top 10 cocktails and where to have them in 2021