A new spirits and cocktail festival is heading to two locations in South Africa this March, from Bacardi's Colin Asare-Appiah and U'Luvka Vodka founder Mark Talbot Holmes - Ajabu. The festival will be held first in Johannesburg between 10-13th March before moving on to Cape Town between 13-18th March. Further week-long events are to then be held across both cities in November.
Ajabu, named after the Swahili word for something wondrous or amazing, aims to connect the hospitality industry across Africa and beyond, to inspire innovation, collaboration, and creativity, and to celebrate Africa and its incredible diversity of people, ingredients and drinks.
Speaking of the new festival, Asare-Appiah of Bacardi said: "We're committed to fostering the growth of the hospitality industry across the continent by inspiring and empowering the bartending community to push the boundaries of their craft while providing a unique platform to showcase the diverse and rich culture of African drinks and ingredients."
The event's website also says of the festival, 20 of the world's top international bartenders from 10 of the most acclaimed bars in the world are coming to South Africa to share their friendship, love and experience with 20 of the most highly acclaimed cocktail bars and their customers in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, (10 bars in each). They will be working with each venue to create unique cocktails, and at the same time, they will be educating and sharing their knowledge, vision and delight with customers and bartenders.
Bars taking part via their bartenders include NYC's Milady's, Mexico's Rayo and London's Trailer Happiness. They will be partnered with bars across Africa including Ghana's Front Back and Naironi's Hero for educational sessions, forums and dinners at venues in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Find out more about each of the festival events on the Ajabu website here.