Nashville Cocktail Festival, Tennessee’s premier celebration of the craft of the cocktail, returns for it’s fifth anniversary weekend April 25th-29th. The festival weekend will include multiple events that will bring together alcohol brands and the local cocktail culture, creating and opportunity for guests to learn, taste and engage. In addition to a few smaller industry and VIP spotlights, Nashville Cocktail Festival will host three main events, held at the Pavilion East in East Nashville. There are individual tickets available, as well as All Access passes and VIP tickets that will include a NCF gift bag. Tickets go on sale February 28th.
In celebration of the 5th anniversary, the Nashville Cocktail Festival welcomes two celebrity guest speakers. Jeff “The Beachbum” Berry is an award winning author and one of the leading global authorities on rum and the resurgence of tiki culture. Jeff’s history expertise has been sought out by Food & Wine, NPR, PBS and more. Chris Forbes is the global brand ambassador and educator for the port wine brands Croft, Taylor Fladgate and Fonseca. His expertise in the world of Portuguese fortified wines has led the three labels to become some of the top selling wine brands in the world. Nashville Cocktail Festival will also feature local and regional guest speakers who will focus on cocktail trends, recipes and other entertaining aspects of the spirits world.
Within the three main events, guests can peruse multiple cocktail tasting stations which are hosted by local restaurants and bars looking to promote the latest within their cocktail program. Liquor and mixer brands will also have tasting stations powered by their brand representatives, bringing an educational opportunity for attendees to ask questions. In addition to the unlimited tastings, guests will have access to food trucks, the guest speaker stage and a Build-Your-Own-Cocktail experience.
NCF Main Events @ Pavilion East Friday 4/27: The Art Deco Party: A Glamorous Sip Through the 20’s & 30’s 6-10pm Saturday 4/28: Polynesian Pop: A Tiki Extravaganza 12-3pm Sunday 4/29: Brain Freeze: A Frozen Cocktail Comeback 2-5pm
NCF VIP & Industry Events: Thursday 4/26: Herradura Tequila Dinner @ Mockingbird (limited seating) 6pm Friday 4/27: Tiki Talk w/ Beachbum Berry (Bartenders Only) @ Bastion 12-2pm Sunday 4/29: NCF Afterparty (TBA)
Nashville Cocktail Festival is also proud to support the local non-profit LIVEmpowered. For the past number of years LIVEmpowered has worked with people of all backgrounds to realize that they are loved, valued and empowered. Through their metro school programs, Indian reservation seminars and festival outreach, LIVEmpowered tackles issues like depression, suicide and self harm and provides resources for voices to be heard. The founders of LIVEmpowered and Nashville Cocktail Festival will also have the unique opportunity this year to address the #metoo and #timesup movements in the local hospitality industry Festival creators Jon and Lindsay Yeager, founders of PourTaste, hosted the East Nashville Cocktail Crawl in 2013. The success of this one night event inspired them to create a city wide event that would draw national attention. The multi day festival was originally titled Music City Spirits & Cocktail Festival in 2014 and with the growth, PourTaste is introducing the rebranded experience this year.