Make plans: Bartenders’ Weekender returns in June 2025
New dates announced, submissions for Better Bars Summit open, and a new awards.
It has been a busy 2024, and we’re not quite done yet. The first issue of Boothby magazine has gone to print, and if you’d like to get the first issue sent to you free, there is still time — fill out your details in the form here.
And we’ve got the third annual Boothby Drink of the Year Awards taking place next Monday night — who will take out the top spot? Keep an eye out on your feeds and your inboxes for the news once the list is announced.
And we’ve also been finalising plans for the return of Bartenders’ Weekender in 2025 — more on that below.
This coming Sunday 17th November, we have Bar Bellamy (Boothby Best Cocktail Bar Victoria 2024) and Rosella’s (Boothby Best Cocktail Bar Queensland 2024) coming to Double Deuce Lounge (the Boothby Best Cocktail Bar NSW 2024) in Sydney for a one-off popup with four bartenders from the Boothby Drink of the Year awards Top 50: Osaka Whitehart and Alex Gondzioulis (Bar Bellamy), Jack Connor (Rosella’s) and Alicia Clarke (Double Deuce Lounge). The drinks will be amazing. There will be tunes from a special guest DJ. It'll be a great way to spend a Sunday! It kicks off at 7pm on Sunday night — thanks also to Glenfiddich and Hendrick’s for supporting the event.
OK. The launch year for Bartenders’ Weekender wildly exceeded our expectations — three sunny days of 24°C in the middle of winter no doubt helped (you can see the action at @bartendersweekender on Instagram). So Penny Sippe and I are very excited to share the dates for next year‘s event — along with a couple of new things to watch for.
Here we go!
Bartenders’ Weekender is a three day festival for bartenders and drinks professionals, and is happening in Brisbane from Sunday 15th to Tuesday 17th of June in 2025. We’re planning more than 30 events across the three days — last year saw 37 events happening! — and 2025 will see the return of two days of talks at the Better Bars Summit, the Boothby Best Bars QLD party, and the night one focus on spotlighting great Brisbane bars.
The Bartenders’ Weekender Scholarship Program will be increased from 6 scholarship winners to eight in 2025, thanks to large demand for the program in the launch year. 170 bartenders applied for the program in 2024, which includes return flights to Brisbane, accommodation for three nights, complimentary tickets to the Better Bars Summit, and $500 in spending money for the trip.
Applications for the Bartenders’ Weekender Scholarship program will open in early 2025, so keep an eye on your inboxes and visit bartendersweekender.com to sign up to the mailing list.
Seminar proposals for the Better Bars Summit are open now. Got a big idea you want to explore to the benefit of the industry? Are there techniques or systems you’ve implemented in your bar that can help others succeed in these challenging times? We’d love to hear them.
The Better Bars Summit is back for two days of Australia’s most inspiring and informative bar and drinks talks. The idea is to inspire, inform, and entertain attendees — we want people to walk away from the Better Bars Summit with knowledge they can apply to their careers, their next menu, or their businesses. So we will again feature live, in-depth interviews with people at the top of their game, and smart panels designed to illuminate specific topic areas, but this year we’d love to broaden our speaking roster and feature some hard-earned insight into the bar and drinks business. We’re looking for 45 minute presentation proposals, and for the presentations that get on the schedule we’ll provide a $500 Better Bars Summit stipend to go towards travel and accommodation.
To apply, email betterbars@boothby.com.au with a brief outline of your proposal, what makes it interesting, and how you’ll deliver it (is it just you, presenting or others? Is there a panel? Are there AV elements required). Submissions will close at the end of December.
And the first annual Drinks 100 Australia Awards Gala is set to take place on Tuesday 17th June, the last night of Bartenders’ Weekender. It’s a black tie, 300 person celebration of the bars, brands, distillers and influential personalities that make up Australia’s vibrant and dynamic drinks culture. We’ve got more to announce on that front in the coming weeks, but suffice it to say, it’ll be a great way to send off Bartenders’ Weekender 2025.
We’re very excited about what’s in store for Bartenders’ Weekender next year, and thrilled to bring the event back to Brisbane for a second year. They really put on a show last year, so start your planning now — and we’ll see you at the bar in Brisbane in June 2025.
If you’re a brand and you want to know more, or if you’re keen to get involved, get in touch with us: Penny Sippe on penny@australiancocktailmonth.com.au and Sam Bygrave on sam@boothby.com.au.
