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Lagos Cocktail Week returns, promises to deliver more culture, festival experience

By Tobi Awodipe
18 October 2022   |   9:36 am
West Africa’s most anticipated cocktail event, Lagos Cocktail Week (LCW), is back for its eighth edition. The nine day event, which started on Friday and would end on October 22, promises an even more impressive lineup for its traditional seminars, masterclasses, bar battles, an elite guest-speaker list, and some of the world’s most renowned drink…

PHOTO CAPTION: Brand Ambassador, Diageo Reserve Tinya Alonge; Brand Manager, Star Radler, Chiamaka Efulu; Director, Creative Sets Dept. Lagos State Ministry of tourism arts and culture, Bisi Omojare; LCW Founder, Lara Rawa; Director, Area Marketing, Mastercard, Yosola Atere; Brand Manager, Martell, Elizabeth Anthony; Founder, H.E.R network, Nkem Onwudiwe and Product Manager, Moet Hennessy, Ijeuru Metu at the press conference heralding the Lagos Cocktail Week in Lagos, recently.

West Africa’s most anticipated cocktail event, Lagos Cocktail Week (LCW), is back for its eighth edition.

The nine day event, which started on Friday and would end on October 22, promises an even more impressive lineup for its traditional seminars, masterclasses, bar battles, an elite guest-speaker list, and some of the world’s most renowned drink brands.

At a press conference held to announce the event, LCW sponsors and stakeholders, were in attendance, including the Director, Area Marketing, Mastercard, Yosola Atere; Director, Creative Sets Department, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism arts and culture, Bisi Omojare; Brand Manager, Martell, Elizabeth Anthony; Brand Manager, Star Radler, Chiamaka Efelu; Brand Ambassador, Diageo Reserve, Tinya Alonge; Product Manager, Moet Hennessy, Ijeuru Metu and Founder, Her Network, Nkem Onwudiwe were all present.

Founder, Lagos Cocktail Week and award-winning mixologist, Lara Rawa, stated that the theme for this year is “Behind the Bars, Drinks and Brands,” adding that the inspiration behind the theme is to celebrate the individuals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to deliver a great hospitality experience through their craft. These individuals include bartenders, mixologists, and brand managers at drinks companies.

She also mentioned that the participating bars in the Bar-Hop aspect of the event, which is sponsored by MasterCard, will serve attendees unique African-infused signature cocktail creations throughout the duration of the event.

Furthermore, Rawa also highlighted that this year’s festival will feature more female bartenders than ever, and will focus on highlighting women in this industry. “I believe that this is a step towards making the cocktail industry more inclusive and welcoming to all,” she said.

Lending even more support to the female bartenders, LCW is partnering with Her Network, and as part of the partnership, four female bartenders will compete in a “Mixher challenge,” in which they will be tasked with creating memorable cocktails based on women that inspire them. Judges will pick winners, who will win cash prizes to support their bartending career.

Speaking on why Mastercard is sponsoring the event this year, Yosola Atere stated that they are passionate about helping SMEs in the culinary space grow and are looking to lending a hand to upcoming chefs, mixologists and other professionals in the field to encourage them to achieve their goals and dreams.

Similarly, Elizabeth Anthony from Martell said the bartending community is very important to them across the world, making it natural they partner with LCW. “Our goal is to train 10,000 bartenders by 2030,” she said.

In the same vein, Chiamaka Efelu, stated that Nigerian Breweries is a customer-centric company which inspired the decision to come on board. “We recognize the growing cocktail culture in Nigeria and want to be a part of it so we can connect with our consumers.”

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