Bar Battles, SME Empowerment & Grand Finale | What you missed from Lagos Cocktail Week 2022

The 8th edition of one of West Africa’s largest and most anticipated cocktail event, Lagos Cocktail Week (LCW), showcased and celebrated the amazing individuals and organizations “Behind the Bars, Drinks & Brands.’’ 

The 9-day event which started on October 14th with an exhilarating Mastercard-sponsored Bar-Hop activity, in which cocktail lovers enjoyed unique African-infused signature cocktail creations across top bars in Lagos, ended with a two-day seminar and grand finale, from Thursday October 20th  – Friday October 21st at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace, Victoria Island.

Guest speakers and facilitators at the seminar and masterclass sessions, which were powered by Mastercard, empowered SME founders and executives present, with valuable knowledge and resources to ensure business success and scalability. Renowned personalities in the cocktail, bar, and beverage industry globally, including, Dr. Olawale Anifowoshe, Georgie Barnard, Lola Pedro, Kevin Conroy, Bolatito Elizabeth Okolie, Bayo Ijasan, amongst others, were facilitators.

The Cocktail Village, which was a two-night event, was truly epic, as guests enjoyed complimentary cocktails from partner brands including Absolut Vodka, Ballentine’s, Martell, Olmeca Tequila, Nestle Water, Beefeater Gin, Fayrouz, Desperadoes, Star Radler, Johnnie Walker, Singleton, Captain Morgan & Gordon’s, Whispering Angel, Terrazas, Volcan, Campari,  and more. 

Attendees also enjoyed networking, music, games, and the most anticipated activity, the bar battle, which took place at the grand finale on Friday. Notably, several female bartenders participated in the bar battle activities this year, which was amazing to witness, as the bartending industry in Nigeria is mostly male-dominated. Mastercard awarded cash prizes to 3 restaurants for their cocktail creations: Slow Lagos, Noir Lagos, and 355 Lagos. The winners of each bar battle challenge were also given cash prizes by the sponsoring drink brands. 

In addition to the eclectic guests that attended the event, celebrities and influencers were also in attendance, including: Toolz, Daniel Etim-Effiong, Diane Russet, Alex Unusual, Noble Igwe, Beverly Osu, Denola Grey, Anto Lecky, Mimi Onalaja, Uriel Oputa, and more. 

Lagos Cocktail Week has become one of West Africa’s landmark events, celebrating the craftsmanship behind mixology and the cocktail culture in Nigeria through events, seminars and training since its inception in 2014.

You can follow Lagos Cocktail on Instagram – @lagoscocktail & Twitter – @lagoscocktailwk or visit their Website: 

Other sponsors of the Lagos Cocktail Week include: Sterling Bank, Balmoral Events, Monin and Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

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