From 9 to 14 April, The Maybe Cocktail Festival will host more than 30 international bartenders for 21 cocktail events across nine venues.
The festival program will feature pop ups of world-class bars, many of which have made the World’s 50 Best Bars list, and celebrated bartenders from places like Italy, England, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, China and Australia.
The number of events reflects the success of last year’s festival, according to Stefano Catino, Maybe Cocktail Festival Director and Director of Hospitality at Public.
“Last year we held 16 events and they were all packed, so this year we’ve curated extra events and flown out even more international bars and bartenders,” he said.
The nine hosting venues are Maybe Sammy, which was ranked the number one bar in the world at the 2023 Top 500 Bars and number 15 by The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023, Dean & Nancy on 22, Sammy Junior, Kasbah at The Strand, Oxford House Pool Bar, Lady Hampshire, Busby’s, Ricos Tacos, and Alpha and Beta at 238 Castlereagh.
“Nineteen of the 21 events are free to attend, which is very important to us. The cost of living is high and it’s very expensive for Australians to travel overseas so this festival will give people the opportunity to drink cocktails from an amazing bar in Rome or try a Tommy’s Margarita from the gentleman who created it, without the cost of a plane ticket,” Stefano said.
The full festival program will be released in March and will include events from the following bars and bartenders:
- Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City) // #3 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- Tayēr + Elementary (London) // #8 The World’s Best Bars 2023
- Caretaker’s Cottage (Melbourne) // #23 The Worlds’ 50 Best Bars 2023
- Argo (Hong Kong) // # 24 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- Freni & Frizioni (Rome) // #33 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- Panda & Sons (Edinburgh) // #39 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- Byrdi (Melbourne) // #61 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- The Donovan Bar (London) // #92 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023
- Julio Bermejo (San Francisco) // creator of the Tommy’s Margarita
- Millie Tang (Brisbane) // Bartender of the Year, ALIA 2019 and 2023
- Dante (New York City & Los Angeles) // #1 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019
- Kwãnt Mayfair (London) // Kwant Mayfair opened 2023 in a new location. In its previous location, Kwãnt was ranked #31 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021
- Re– (Sydney) // #46 The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021
- Origin Bar (Singapore) // The World’s 50 Best ‘Discovery’
- Trick Dog (San Francisco) // The World’s 50 Best ‘Discovery’
- La Punta Expendio de Agave (Rome) // The World’s 50 Best ‘Discovery’
- Gucci Giardino 25 (Florence) // The World’s 50 Best ‘Discovery’
- Bar Nouveau (Paris) // The World’s 50 Best ‘Discovery’
- Bar Leone (Hong Kong) // Considered one of the most anticipated bar openings in the world in 2023
