What is London Cocktail Week?
It is the perfect week for cocktail lovers across the city. London Cocktail Week 2016 was epic. This year Drink Up London really upped their game and came up with a list of 250 bars across London to represent the most epic cocktail scene. London Cocktail Week 2016 took place between Oct 3-9. The way it works is that you buy your weekly festival pass for £10 and then you have full access to all the bars, popups, and the Cocktail village at Old Spitalfields Market. This festival pass (wristband) give you access to £5 cocktails at all the 250 registered locations. London Cocktail Week is what you make of it. You can go just for one day or get full use of your week pass and drink your heart out for 7 days straight. Pick an area, pick a spirit, pick a style of cocktail and get the party started.
Which Vendors at Old Spitalfields are the best?
I only went to LCW for one night and I decided to hit up Old Spitalfields Market. I went on Friday night which seemed like the worst idea once I got there. It was so busy that you barely had room to move or sit anywhere. It was still a fun and festive vibe, but really crowded. I went with my friend @Marjan.Focus. She got some great action shots of me that you can see below. We both work full-time jobs, so the only free time we had was on Friday night after work. Since it was so crowded I only managed to get 2 drinks in the time that they were open. The Old Spitalfields Market vendors are only open until 9:30pm, so I suggest you get there early to avoid the crowds. I personally tried the Southern Comfort stand because it came highly recommended. For £8 you got one of their signature cocktails as well as some good old-fashioned fried chicken. It was finger licking good and I could have easily stayed there the entire night, but I wanted to make sure I tried out other vendors as well.
Next up on the list of drinks was the patron stand. Now if you know me in real life you know that patron/tequila is always my drink of choice. I know that sounds crazy but I just love it. I had to try their classic margarita and it did not disappoint. As much as I love tequila this particular drink was not my favorite of the night. I next went on a hunt for the drink in an actual coconut. I eventually found out that the Captain Morgan stand was making drinks in the coconuts, I was expecting it to be a pina colada, but was disappointed to see it was not and it was going to cost me £10, which was outrageous since I was told that all drinks would be, at most, £5. I didn’t feel like spending that much on a drink I wasn’t too excited to actually drink, so instead I asked the guy in front of my in the queue if I could take a picture of his drink #noshame. He was kind enough to let me take a picture and told me the drink was nice, but not his favorite of the night.
My final vendor of the night was the Bally’s stand. I don’t want to sound #basic, but I heard that they were making pumpkin spiced cocktails and I had to see it for myself. I was really craving something creamy all night and was pleasantly surprised when I found out that Bailey’s was doing their take on a pumpkin spiced milkshake. They launched their new pumpkin spiced new Irish cream liqueur blended with the flavor of pumpkin spice. Bailey’s partnered up with Molly Bake’s to make the ultimate Freakshake. I waited in line for one, but unfortunately by the time I made it to the front I was told they had sold out for the night. I was lucky enough to have tried a sample of their new liqueur and it was amazing. I also asked the girl in front of me to let me take a picture for my blog and she happily obliged.
My Experience at London Cocktail Week
Overall my first ever London Cocktail Week was a great success. Not only did I get to have a few amazing cocktails I also met some pretty awesome people at the event. I think next year I will be more prepared and I will end up getting my wristband earlier and take advantage of attending the different events that happen throughout the week. If you haven’t already make sure to visit Drink up’s website to keep up to date with their events and stay in the loop about next year’s cocktail week. I hope this post encourage you to go out and get a drink. If you did end up going to London Cocktail Week 2016, please let me know what your favorite drink was in the comments!
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Looks like a really good time and a great event! 🙂