Sydney Bar Week: Indie tickets on sale, Bar Awards voting still live and much more!

The home of Indie Spirits Tasting 2021 – The Potts Point Hotel

It’s about that time when things around Australian Bartender HQ start heating up with plans for Sydney Bar Week in September.

Now is the time to start scheduling a little break and booking your flights and accommodation for 19th to 21st September. We know it’s been tough for everyone in the hospitality industry at some point in the last 12 months; some of you have had extended and repeated lockdowns, continued limits on numbers and for some, their doors have shuttered forever.

We hope this shortened Bar Week will be just the tonic to propel the industry forward. We have lots of great events confirmed with loads of our key suppliers locked into the schedule including:

  • Campari Academy
  • Never Never Distilling
  • Jack Daniels
  • Herradura Tequila
  • Proof & Co
  • The Blend
  • House of William Grant

We’re working hard with suppliers to reduce the financial pressure on bartenders by having complimentary and lower priced events, to make it easier for people to make it to town this year.

The Business of Bars Conference 2019

We can also report that the Business of Bars Conference on Monday, 20th September is partnering up with Ananas for an epic line up of educational sessions. We can’t wait to reveal the full line-up.

The team from Bartender Boxing will be back again in 2021 and they are just ironing out the details but regos will open soon. It provides us with what we think is one of the most effective vehicles to support better mental and physical health for people in our industry. Get excited by revisiting the famous Jono Carr V Daniel Hilton bout back in 2019.

The Indie Spirits Tasting is also back and will be hosted over three floors at the Potts Point Hotel on Sunday, 19th September. Early Bird tickets are on sale now for just $35 (plus fees). This includes samples from 30 exhibitors as well as snacks and seminars. We have loads of great local distillers on board (Wolf Lane Distillery, Ester Spirits, Applewood, Republic of Fremantle and so many more) as well as craft spirits from around the world. If you are still interested in exhibiting there are only 2 tables left, so email david@spantonmedia.com

And next month we will kick off nominations for the Hottest 100 Aussie Spirits which will be announced just before Indie Spirits Tasting on Sunday, 19th September. Stay tuned or sign up to the newsletter for more info.

Damien Kos-Beckwith and the team from 18th Amendment in Geelong winning Regional Bar in 2019

And of course, we can’t wait to host the 20th Annual Bar Awards at Doltone House. Bar Awards voting is still open but closes on 31 May, so click here and have your say.

We are also pumped at the number of people who have registered for the Bartender of the Year competition sponsored by Hendrick’s and Monkey Shoulder. Registrations for this event will stay open until August, so email amy@spantonmedia.com if you’re interested in competing. Registering early ensures you stay up to date with all the latest information. And you can always have a crack at our quizzes which you will find here.

Stay up to date with everything that’s happening with Bar Week by signing up to our newsletters. Click here.

And there are still some opportunities for sponsors to get behind the Bar Awards in 2021 and support the bar industry in what will be a unifying Sydney Bar Week. To get involved simply email david@spantonmedia.com.

Bar Week Educational Sessions