The Kuala Lumpur bar industry veterans including bar owners, bartenders and bar consultants are looping in alcohol brands and restaurants for a celebration of all things cocktails from 24 to 30 April 2024.
KL Cocktail Week will see bar dusting their shelves and rolling their sleeves for a crafty good week of cocktails, pairings, masterclasses in both English and Chinese languages, and industry dialogues. The festival guarantees a showcase of bartending talents in Malaysia’s capital city and the clanking of shakers with bartenders from around the region through an event-packed week.
Kuala Lumpur was the first city in Southeast Asia to host a cocktail week in 2011. Though with no continuance, Malaysia continues to produce many talents for the bar industry, and today, we are thrilled to experience the epitome of the cocktail scene in the country stemming from the initiative of the industry itself. This KL Cocktail Week first by an industry committee is a testament to the camaraderie and the will to grow. Penang, too, has started one last year.
Bars local and regional
Local big gunners such as award-winning bar Three x Co, JungleBird, Bar Trigona; bartenders-owned outlets like Terumi, Soma, Penrose; popular names like Skullduggery, Jann, Concubine, and more are collaborating with sponsors to host friends from neighbouring countries such as China, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
Guest shifts by the zones
For cocktail enthusiasts and bar-hoppers, worry not about wasting precious drinking time getting from one place to another, the organiser has divided the city into five zones for the guest shifts for each day. Focus on one area and cover your ground at Bangsar, PJ/TTDI, Damansara Heights, Chinatown and Kuala Lumpur City Centre.
Pairing Dinners
Six pairing dinners at the finest culinary outlets complemented by curated cocktails. Savour an elemental open flame seafood dinner at Yellow Fin Horse, experience charcoal grilling theatrics at Jwala, indulge in the taste of modern Malaysian in the comfort of Terra Dining, enjoy juicy grill meats at Jus Resto Bar, enthralled by woodfire fine dining and its interior at Barkar, and have fun with Malaysian influenced Japanese dishes at Waig by Chipta 11a.
Cocktail Party
Spend a day at the KLCW Festival Village in APW for cocktails and bites, masterclasses, live music and games. Also, witness the revelation of the best cocktail with the focus on making local ingredients and heritage shine. Ticket is RM85 at the door and comes with 2 cocktails worth RM70 in total (early bird ticket is RM80!) Needless to mention, the event is open to non-Muslims and legal drinking age only.
Address:
Bangsar. 29, Jalan Riong, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Tickets (link here):
Walk-in - RM85 nett per person; Early bird - RM80 (until 24 April 2024, 11.59pm)
T&Cs:
- 2 cocktails worth RM70 nett
- The Festival Village is a cashless event which the cocktails can be purchased using drink tokens.
- Price range of cocktail: RM35 - RM55 nett per cocktail.
- Additional drink tokens are available for top-up at RM10 and RM35 denominations.
- Bookings are non-transferable, non-refundable, non-cancellable and non-reschedulable.
Festival Schedules
24 April (Wed) – Bangsar
6pm - Pairing Dinner: JWALA X Michter's
8pm – Guestshift @ Three x Co.: Alice Cheongdam X Hendrick's Gin
8pm – Guestshift @ Rakh: Room By Le Kief X Roku
9pm – Guestshift @ Here&Now: Teens Of Thailand X Backdoor Bodega X Dewars
25 April (Thu) – PJ/TTDI
2.30pm – Seminar @ JungleBird: Niks Anuman, by Hendrick's
6pm - Pairing Dinner: Terra Dining X Hendrick's
8pm – Guestshift @ Soma: Alice Cheongdam X Hendrick's
8pm – Guestshift @ Ikiya 2.0: God BKK X Dewars
9pm – Guestshift @ Remedy: Last Word X Tanqueray
9pm – Guestshift @ Terumi: Room By Le Kief X Roku
26 April (Fri) – Damansara Heights
11.30am - Bartenders Brunch By Cocchi (Invitation Only)
6pm - Pairing Dinner: Jus Resto Bar X Dewars
8pm – Guestshift @ JungleBird: Bar Leone X Cocchi
8pm – Guestshift @ Skullduggery: Nutmeg & Clove X Tanqueray
9pm – Guestshift @ Reka:Bar: Tokyo Confidential X Nikka
27 April (Sat) - KLCW Festival Village Party @ APW, Bangsar
3pm – Masterclass (Eng): Cocchi Apperitivo (Public)
4pm – Masterclass (Ch): Dewars Whisky (Public)
5pm - Cocktail Competition Finals
5pm – Masterclass (Eng): Michter's Bourbon (Public)
6pm – Masterclass (Eng): Roku Gin (Public)
7pm – Masterclass (Eng): Monkey Shoulder Whisky (Public)
8pm – Masterclass (Eng): Tanqueray Gin (Public)
9pm – Masterclass (Eng): Dewars Whisky (Public)
28 April (Sun) - Chinatown
7:45am Be Well Sightseeing Run By Bacardi (Public)
2:30pm – Seminar at @ Bar Trigona: Indra Kantono, by Monkey Shoulder (Public)
6pm - Pairing Dinner: Yellow Finn Horse X Tanqueray
7pm – Guestshift @ JWC Cabinet: Bar Long Fong X Michter's
8pm – Guestshift @ Jann, Four Points Chinatown: Sidecar X Monkey Shoulder
9pm – Guestshift @ Concubine: The Cocktail Club x Bombay Sapphire
9pm – Guestshift @ Penrose: Cosmo Pony x Remy Martin
29 April (Mon) – Kuala Lumpur City Centre
2.30pm – Seminar @ Astor Bar: Yangdup Lama, by Bombay Sapphire (Public)
6pm - Pairing Dinner: Barkar X Rémy Martin
8pm – Guestshift @ Bar Trigona: Atlas X Michter's
8pm – Guestshift @ Frank’s Bar: Bar Leone X Cocchi
9pm – Guestshift @ Joloko: The Cocktail Club x Bombay Sapphire
30 April (Tue) – Kuala Lumpur
6pm - Pairing Dinner: Waig by Chipta11a X Roku Gin
8pm – Guestshift @ Ver in Nadodi, Four Seasons: Sidecar X Monkey Shoulder
9pm – Guestshift @ Bar Trigona: EO S'pore X Remy Martin
2 May (Wed) - Industry
2.30pm - Round Table Talk: "Community" By KLCW - Moderated by Nicholas Ng at Jann, by Rémy Martin (Invitation Only)
Get your KL Cocktail Week tickets here.
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