The fourth edition of Venice Cocktail Week returns to Venice from October 22 to 26: five days and twenty-eight Venetian cocktail bars promoting a culture of responsible drinking
Venice Cocktail Week returns in 2025 with five days dedicated to mixology and the Venetian bar scene.
Created by journalist Paola Mencarelli, founder of Florence Cocktail Week (in 2016) and the Cocktail Weeks in Italy, the event aims to promote a culture of quality and responsible drinking, showcasing industry professionals and fostering dialogue between enthusiasts and experts.
The program involves hotel bars, cocktail bars, and historic cafés with themed evenings, masterclasses by guest bartenders, and activities that combine the world of drinks with the discovery of the city.
The fourth edition introduces two main innovations: Barkeeper VCW25, the initiative created to meet bartenders at work in the twenty-eight selected cocktail bars, and two parties opening and closing the event. The opening on Wednesday, October 22 in the sixteenth-century spaces of Aman Venice with Antonio Ferrara, bar manager of The Bar at Aman Venice, and the closing on Sunday, October 26 at the Arts Bar of the St. Regis hotel.
28 cocktail bars in the city
Twenty-eight venues selected among hotel bars and cocktail bars in Venice participating in Venice Cocktail Week 2025: from Aman Venice to The St. Regis Venice, from Caffè Florian to Terrazza Aperol.
Eight new cocktail bars in the city are participating in VCW25: Il Piccolo Bar at Violino d’Oro, Il Porto Lounge Bar at Palazzo Veneziano, Lord Byron at Palazzo Keller, Venixino Lounge & Garden at Donà Palace, Mirai, Moro Venice, Rétro, and The “G” Lounge & Garden Bar at Hotel Nani Mocenigo Palace led by the legendary Gennaro Florio.
The new entry: Barkeeper VCW25
The major innovation of Venice Cocktail Week 2025 is called Barkeeper VCW25, an initiative designed to showcase the resident bartenders of the finest hotel bars and cocktail bars in Venice and reveal up close how the city’s most celebrated cocktails are created.
On dedicated days and times (the detailed calendar will be released on October 10 on the official VCW channels), it will be possible to meet the protagonists of Venetian mixology at work and discover precise techniques such as shaking to blend ingredients of different densities, stirring for cocktails composed solely of spirits, or muddling to release flavors from fresh fruit and herbs.
Trade secrets, anecdotes, and curiosities emerge as bartenders demonstrate mixology as a true art bordering on alchemy, based on careful measurement of ingredients and extremely elegant movements.
The VCW25 Cocktail List
An itinerary through the 28 cocktail bars of Venice takes us on a discovery of the VCW25 Signature Cocktails. Each cocktail bar presents a cocktail created specifically for the event, which expresses the creativity and identity of the venue.
Midday Aperitif
A tribute to the Venetian tradition of the midday aperitif, fresh and light for any time of day.
ICW Pop-Up Bar: The Italian mixology network
Bartenders from Florence, Cortina, Amalfi, and Tuscany arrive in Venice with the ICW Pop-Up Bars to present their cocktails in VCW25 venues and Event Partner locations. The initiative, already tested in Campania during Amalfi Coast Cocktail Week and in Florence for Florence Cocktail Week 2025, allows guests to taste creations from other Italian Cocktail Weeks directly in Venetian bars.
The signature of Piero Lissoni
The Venice Cocktail Week logo bears the signature of architect and designer Piero Lissoni with Lissoni & Partners.
Venice Cocktail Week 2025
October 22 to 26
venicecocktailweek.it
Article by Lucia Pecoraro.
Images by Michele Tamasco for Venice Cocktail Week 2025.
