Cape Town Cocktail Week returns with a new series of masterclasses
Mark your calendars for Cape Town Cocktail Week!
Image: Nano Erdozain /Pexels
December in the Mother City is about to get a whole lot more spirited.
Cape Town Cocktail Week (CTCW) officially returns from December 7 to 13, promising a massive celebration of the city's booming drink culture.
If you love exploring the best bars in Cape Town, trying exclusive craft menus and catching international guest bartenders in action, clear your calendar.
With a CTCW wristband and a map in hand, you'll unlock specially priced signature cocktails and pop-up events at top-tier venues across the city.
But this year, the festival is launching something completely new: a dedicated education programme designed to lift the curtain on how the world's best drinks are made.
To lead this new masterclass series, CTCW has appointed industry icon Kurt Schlechter as director of Education. If you've ever had a drink at the award-winning Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen, you already know Schlechter's work.
Schlechter is teaming up with festival founder Leah van Deventer to curate the lineup. Between them, this duo has appeared nine times on the prestigious Drinks International Bar World 100 list, which ranks the most influential people in the global drinks space.
With Van Deventer recently named Mentor of the Year and Schlechter honoured as Industry Icon at South Africa's Bar & Beverage Awards, attendees are learning from the absolute best in the business.
"Education only works when it's embedded in the industry it's meant to serve," says Schlechter. "With our combined passion, Leah and I want to deliver something that genuinely serves the community we've spent decades mentoring."
As Cape Town Cocktail Week approaches, the city gears up for what promises to be an exhilarating week filled with creativity, knowledge, and camaraderie amongst cocktail connoisseurs.
Image: Willians Huerta /Pexels
The ultimate host: Mount Nelson, a Belmond Hotel
The festival's educational heart will beat at the iconic Mount Nelson.
Set right beneath Table Mountain, the historic hotel is the perfect backdrop for a week of masterclasses, panels and seminars.
It is a fitting venue. The Nellie is home to Planet Bar, one of the city’s pioneering cocktail spots and the very first South African bar to crack the World’s 50 Best Bars list back in 2009.
"Mount Nelson is synonymous with the very best of this city. It’s the ideal home for the festival, explains Van Deventer.
Clement Edwards, assistant food and beverage manager at Mount Nelson, echoes the excitement: "By providing a world-class setting, we aim to inspire creativity and learning while celebrating Cape Town as a hub for innovation and mindful mixology."
How to get involved?
While cocktail enthusiasts can look forward to attending these masterclasses, CTCW is officially opening the floor to the global bar community to help shape the curriculum.
If you are a bartender, brand ambassador, or industry educator with a brilliant idea for a seminar, panel, or interactive workshop, submissions are now open.
What they are looking for: Innovative concepts focusing on skills development, trends and the future of the global drinks space.
Deadline: June 5. Submit applications at: https://bit.ly/CTCW26EdProg