Melbourne Cocktail Festival makes a comeback

The first-ever Melbourne Cocktail Festival took place in March 2020, right before the world shut down. The festival this year, which will take place from 12-18 April, will celebrate the resilience of the city’s bar scene.

Like the inaugural event, MCF 2021 will round up some of the city’s most notable bars and bartenders – for one-off creations, masterclasses, collaborations and a variety of cocktail-oriented events.

The signature event of MCF will once again be the Bar Safari, which encourages ticket-holders to wander between Melbourne’s best bars. Each of the participating venues will be offering a cocktail made especially for the festival.

Other highlights of the event program include Tropical Escapism, a boozy themed party in the attic of Black Pearl; The Long Goodbye, a journey into the gimlet; and Waste Not Taste Lots, a sneak preview of Matt Whiley’s new Sydney bar Re, which will focus on sustainability and waste reduction.

The details of further events will be revealed over the coming weeks.

Ticket sales for initial events, and for Bar Safari registration, will go live on 12 March on the Melbourne Cocktail Festival website.