The Cocktail Entrepreneur: Nick Fox

This year, Leeds Loves Cocktails is bigger and better than ever, and festival organiser Nick Fox is expanding his operations to Manchester. The Mancunians will be shown how it’s done on July 25-31, but before then, the week-long festival will be hitting Leeds, from 1-7 June.

What’s new for this year at Leeds Loves Cocktails?

We have some new venues that the city has to offer such as Mr Nobody and The Hedonist Project joining us and 90% of the events in the festival programme this year are completely new.

We also have our Information Hub affiliated with Oporto bar on Call Lane where there will be daily events with our official partners, Bacardi Brown Forman.

We’ve added more food and drink orientated events with a handful of drink pairing dinners with leading brands, ranging from Rum and Tequila to Gin and Japanese Whisky. The meals are accompanied by some delicious cocktails to provide a superb dining experience.

Why does it work so well in Leeds do you think, are you going to roll it out elsewhere?

I think it works well in Leeds for a number of reasons. Firstly, we have one of the best nightlife scenes in the UK, and to back that up we have a thriving cocktail scene with incredible bars and bartenders.

Leeds and its inhabitants love to enjoy themselves and what better way than to take part in a seven day cocktail festival and celebrate all the city has to offer.

This year I’m also expanding to the North West with Manchester Loves Cocktails on July 25th – 31st and I don’t plan to stop there with other locations currently in the pipeline.

How many people are you expecting?

This year is our biggest yet – we have 43 Venues and close to 50 leading brands involved including our official partnerships with Bacardi Brown Forman and Bacardi, Bombay Sapphire, Chambord, Grey Goose, Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve.

We sold close to 2,000 tickets last year and our popularity continues to grow year-on-year so I’ll be looking to further continue the increase in sales this year.

Are there any must-do events or masterclasses?

There are too many to mention! However the idea behind this festival and our industry is that it truly comes down to taste. That’s one of the interesting elements about producing a seven day festival like this, is to adhere to all different tastes and try and please as many people as possible. We have a great mix of events that appeal to both consumers and staff in the industry.

I would definitely attend the opening and closing parties at Oporto and Headrow House respectfully.

Also, one of the events I’m most excited about is The Portobello Road Gin session at Manahatta with The American Bar at the Savoy. It’s amazing that we have one of the best bars in London and the world, taking over this Leeds venue.

I’d always make sure to see the guys at LIVIN’italy for an Aperitivo hour and this year we are fortunate to have Leon Dalloway hosting a ‘Gin Journey’ and also the ‘Tequila Trail’ with The Liquorists.

In the past, I’ve tried to attend nearly every event to show my face but it does prove to be a hard task. My top tip would be to look at the timetable and plan the events you want to attend before hand – it can prove a little harder after some cocktails!

What are you 3 favourite cocktails?

Favourite 3 cocktails? It depends On what mood I’m in! What’s the weather like? Have I had a hard day?

But, I would have to say I couldn’t live without a Manhattan, a Gin Sour and a Tommy’s Margarita….

And not forgetting the Martini, Old Fashioned, Mai Tai…..

There’s too many to enjoy, but as our slogan says, make sure to Drink Better, Not More!