Established by Tuscan Paola Mencarelli in 2016, this year’s edition of Florence Cocktail Week is set to focus on Florence’s bartenders with their cocktails concocted especially for the event, the current low and no-alcohol market as well as bringing some of the best bars in Tuscany to the city centre.
A public event aimed at everyone who likes a well-made drink, there’s no denying that Florence Cocktail Week is also a time for professionals as local, Italian and international bartenders attend and run masterclasses and experiences. Don’t miss “The Maestro” Salvatore Calabrese, inventor of the world’s most expensive cocktail, mixed at The Playboy Club in Mayfair, who is coming from London for the opening of the Artemisia Bar at the Hotel Savoy on April 9. Look forward to a guest shift featuring Rudolf Szám, Brand Ambassador Central Europe for Altamura Distilleries, who, on April 10, is bringing his mixology expertise to Binomio. Plus, Julian Short, chief bartender at Sin+Tax in Johannesburg, holds a guest shift at Santa Cocktail Club with main sponsor Altamura Distilleries on April 11 as well as helming a discussion on the use of wine in mixology at Enoteca Alessi on April 12.
There’s a culinary aspect to the event too as pizzerias, gelato parlours and bakeries use certain spirits in their recipes and hold special nights.
The participating bars are: Alassio, The Hoxton; Bitter Bar; Caffè Concerto Paszkowski; Caffè Gilli 1733; Caffè Giubbe Rosse; Cibrèo Ristorante & Cocktail Bar; Ditta Artigianale; Djària American Bar; Drinking Blues; Drinx, Il Gusto di Xinge; Enoteca Alessi Wine & Cocktail Bar; Eye Cocktail Bar; FAKE Firenze; Fede Cocktailab; FUK Cocktail Bar; Giacosa 1815; Gucci Giardino; L’Angolino; La Ménagère; La Petite; Locale Firenze; MAD Souls & Spirits; Manifattura; Move On; Next Door Guné; PanicAle Cocktail Art Pub; RAARO; Rasputin; REX; Rifrullo Firenze; Rivoire; Santa Cocktail Club; Saporium Lounge; Serre Torrigiani; Sevi; Strizzi Garden; Tiratissima; Viktoria Lounge Bar; Wanda Caffè; plus hotel bars: 701 Rooftop Bar – Gallery Hotel Art; Bar Artemisia – Hotel Savoy; Atrium Bar – Four Seasons Hotel Firenze; Bar Berni – Four Seasons Hotel Firenze; Bar Bertelli, Collegio alla Querce, Auberge Resorts Collection; Binomio – Hotel Indigo Florence; Companion Dolceamaro Bar – 25 Hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino; DISOPRA – Hotel degli Orafi; Divina Terrazza – Grand Hotel Cavour; Empireo American Bar & Rooftop – Plaza Hotel Lucchesi; Fede Cocktail Lab – Hotel Balestri; Harry’s Bar The Garden – Sina Villa Medici, Autograph Collection; Il Magnifico Cafè – Il Tornabuoni Hotel; La Terrazza – Grand Hotel Minerva; Milton Bar – Tivoli Palazzo Gaddi; Osmo – Floren Luxury Hotel; Picteau Bistrot & Bar – Hotel Lungarno; Rooftop Bar – The Social Hub Florence; Santa Cocktail Club Villa Cora – Villa Cora; The Orientalist – Hotel Number Nine; Whisper Bar, Anglo American Hotel; and Winter Garden Bar – The St.Regis Florence.
