Cocktail weekend set to leave Birmingham shaken not stirred
Cocktail lovers are in for a treat later this month, with the return of the Birmingham Cocktail Weekend.
The event, that is taking place at venues across the city from July 14-16 2017, will see bartenders at over 35 venues create signature cocktails for the weekend, as well as a whole host of cocktail inspired experiences for both cocktail beginners and connoisseurs.
The organiser of the event, Alexandra Nicholson-Evans, set Birmingham Cocktail Weekend up in 2015 and is hoping that this year will be the most successful yet. Alexandra, also commercial director at Birmingham Museums Trust, set up the event after moving to Birmingham and seeing the city in a new light.
She said: “I had a fairly damming perspective of the city when I first moved here from Buckinghamshire. I was nervous when I moved because I just hadn’t seen what I know now about the city.
“I soon realised that although I had heard so much about the Michelin starred restaurants in the city, I hadn’t heard anything about the bars and I didn’t expect there to be anything like venues such as The Lost and Found, Bodega and The Bureau. I was surprised, and decided to take it upon myself to find out more about the venues in the city and the event soon came about.”
Venues taking part in the event with signature cocktails as well as series of events include Bourne & Co, The Botanist, The Cosy Club, Gusto, The Jekyll Hyde and Hotel du Vin. Other venues taking part include Malmaison, Gaucho, Tom’s Kitchen and the Edwardian Tearooms at Birmingham Museum.
Alexandra is hoping that people who go along to the event try something new. She said: “We want people to discover new flavours and swap their usual gin for vodka.
“We also want them to head to a masterclass and learn more about the different elements of a cocktail and what makes certain brands and flavours so special and getting people to step outside of their local and comfort zones and discover something new.”
There will also be a series of events to head along to over the weekend. The New Alexandra Theatre will be hosts to cocktail masterclasses over the weekend, as well as screening the classic Tom Cruise film Cocktail. The Victoria will be hosting whisky masterclasses and The Jekyll and Hyde will be showing visitors how to become a gin distiller and make your very own bottle.
Hosting a weekend dedicated to cocktails for the third-year running hasn’t put Alexandra off them though. She said: “I just love cocktails. I find them fascinating, they taste so good, and the more that I have got to know about what goes into a cocktail, I have noticed the thought behind them.
“My favourite thing about cocktails is the personality and how you get to see a glimmer of what a venue is all about.”
Wristbands for the event are available for £10 and will allow visitors into all bars and restaurants taking part, as well as enjoying the signature cocktail at each venue for £4.
