Florence Cocktail Week returns to Florence from April 7 to 13 with 60 cocktail bars, events, and new visions of contemporary mixology
Florence once again speaks the language of mixology with Florence Cocktail Week, created and directed by Paola Mencarelli. From April 7 to 13, 2025, the world of mixology will feature guest shifts, masterclasses, cultural appointments, and cocktails created specifically for the event. The sixty participating venues will present two cocktails designed for #FCW25: a Signature drink made with products from partner companies, and a low-alcohol or alcohol-free Wellness Signature.
Among the novelties of this edition, bartenders from the most interesting venues in Venice, Tuscany, and Amalfi will be guests at FCW events, and for the first time, cocktail lists will clearly display the alcohol content of every drink.
The event follows the established format of Italian Cocktail Weeks, with widespread events organized from brunch to the night shift within the best bars in Florence.
The project is realized with the patronage of the City of Florence and the support of the Destination Florence Foundation.
Focus on bartenders
Barkeeper FCW makes its debut, a project that highlights the resident bartenders working behind their own counters during their regular shifts. On scheduled days and times, these professionals will discuss the cocktails created for #FCW25 and their approach to mixing. Giving a face to each of them is a series of portraits by photographer Veronica Gaido, an integral part of the event’s visual communication.
Young Guest Bartender returns, a project designed for professionals under 25: young bartenders taking center stage at the bar, either alone or alongside established names in the industry.
The Shift Scholarship from Kazakhstan, curated by Paola Mencarelli and Arina Nikolskaya (SHIFT.project), brings Abay Mukambayev and Svetlana Khaninaeva to Tuscany. The two professionals will take part in a training experience in San Vincenzo and Florence, with guest shifts scheduled for Tuesday, April 8 at the Santa Cocktail Club, Thursday, April 10 (Eye Cocktail Bar), and Saturday, April 12 at Gucci Giardino.
The week’s significant appointments also include several international appearances:
- On Wednesday, April 9, The Maestro Salvatore Calabrese inaugurates the Artemisia Bar at the Hotel Savoy in Florence.
- On Friday, April 11, the chef bartender of Sin+Tax in Johannesburg, Julian Short, will be a guest at the Santa Cocktail Club.
- On Saturday, April 12, Julian Short will be among the speakers at the round table discussion on the theme of wine in mixology at Enoteca Alessi.
Italian Cocktail Weeks Reunion: Pop-Up Bars arrive from Venice
“Given the success in Campania during Amalfi Coast Cocktail Week in September 2024, I wanted to bring the regional Pop-Up Bar formula to Florence as well,” says Paola Mencarelli. “The cocktail bars and hotel bars of Florence Cocktail Week 2025 will host Pop-Up Bars from the most important venues of Tuscany Cocktail Week, Venice Cocktail Week, and Amalfi Coast Cocktail Week, creating a true ICW Reunion.”
The Pop-Up Bars of Venice Cocktail Week bring a selection of guest shifts by Venetian bartenders to Florence:
- Tuesday, April 8 – Il Magnifico Café, Florence
YURTYERBITO round trip
Guest Shift with Mattia Dipasquale, Alchemia, Ca’ di Dio, Venice - Wednesday, April 9 – Bar Bertelli, Collegio alla Querce
Guest Shift with Antonio Ferrara, The Bar, Aman Venice - Friday, April 11 – The Orientalist, Hotel Number Nine
Guest Shift with Pietro Lorefice, Experimental Cocktail Club, Il Palazzo Experimental, Venice - Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12 – Enoteca Alessi Wine & Cocktail Bar
Yurtchetti – Guest Shift with Giovanni D’Este: cocktails with authentic Venetian cicchetti. - Saturday, April 12, from 7:00 PM till late – The Orientalist, Hotel Number Nine
Yerbito and Yurt premium Vodka present A Cuban In Venice – Guest Shift VCW Pop-Up Bar with Oleg Dobreanschi, Blue Drop Venice, Lido di Venezia.
Event open to the public with cocktails available for purchase. For info and reservations: +39 055 293777 orientalist@houseofnine.com
Alongside the guest shifts, the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze presents a musical event with the Interpreti Veneziani, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. This is paired with four cocktails inspired by the seasons, created by the bars of Four Seasons hotels in Florence, London, Budapest, and Taormina.
- Tuesday, April 8 – Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
The Four Seasons @ Four Seasons
Live music with the Interpreti Veneziani, cocktails inspired by Vivaldi from four international bars of the Four Seasons group.
Pizza and spirits: the return of Vivoli
For the 2025 edition, Florence Cocktail Week reintroduces the format involving chefs, pizza makers, pastry chefs, and gelato makers in the creation of dishes, desserts, and preparations using spirits as an ingredient. During the week, various Florentine establishments will offer dishes on their menus designed to enhance mixology through food, or organize dedicated evenings.
The four thematic lines are:
Dining with the Spirits
Florentine chefs reinterpret dishes from their menus using spirits as an ingredient, incorporating them into preparations or proposing specific pairings. Each dish is created with the idea of integrating flavor, technique, and mixology, forming a direct dialogue between the kitchen and the bar.
Pizza with the Spirits
Pizza makers also join the narrative with doughs, seasonings, or toppings that use products from the cocktail world. The pizzas created for #FCW25 will be available on menus or during dedicated evenings, with particular attention to pairings between doughs and drinks.
Pastry with the Spirits
For the first time, Florence Cocktail Week also involves the world of pastry. Sweets and desserts designed to highlight the presence of alcohol in creams, reductions, or as an integral part of the recipes. A concrete extension of mixology language into the world of sweets.
Gelato with the Spirits
Gelato moves closer to the bar thanks to the participation of master gelato makers working on flavors created with or inspired by spirits. Among the novelties is the opening of the Vivoli Affogato Bar, a new establishment linked to the historic Florentine name, which will offer an entire line dedicated to gelato affogato with alcohol during the event.
Inside and outside the bar counter
Focus on physical and mental well-being is a key theme in the 2025 edition.
- On Tuesday, April 8, the program includes Wellness Time – Reset Body & Spirit, a session aimed at bartenders, scheduled at The22 Yoga & Fitness Lifestyle Studio Florence.
The appointment is organized by Ice3 and Legend Kombucha. - On Thursday, April 3, Shake Your Identity – The power of creative thinking in personal branding opens the calendar with a workshop reserved for bartenders selected for the event, with the goal of helping each bartender define and effectively communicate their identity, including through the creation of a drink.
In the classroom: Ilaria Legato (Brand Designer) and (Head of PR & Communication ICW).
Historic Cafés Tour
The tour, created in collaboration with Ricomincio da Firenze, offers a guided itinerary through the city’s main historic cafés:
- Caffè Paszkowski, founded in 1846 as a brewery, is today a monumental café-concert that has hosted intellectuals, artists, and musical evenings.
- Caffè Le Giubbe Rosse: a historic café in Piazza della Repubblica and a meeting place for poets, writers, and futurists. It reopened in 2024 after a long restoration.
- The initiative concludes at Caffè Gilli, where a tasting of the Negroni Cocktail is planned. It is the oldest café in Florence, active since 1733. This venue also overlooks Piazza della Repubblica, preserves Art Nouveau furnishings, and is considered a landmark of confectionery tradition and 19th-century bourgeois social life.
Florence Cocktail Week
In Florence from April 7 to 13, 2025
www.florencecocktailweek.it
The Calendar will be online starting from April 1, 2025.
Article by Lucia Pecoraro.
Photos by Florence Cocktail Week.
