Shakers at the ready: it’s time for another celebration of all things cocktails. We’ve just had the first-ever Brighton Cocktail Festival in all its brilliance and now it’s over to Brighton Cocktail Week, back for a nine-day pour-athon at the city’s bars, restaurants and, er, aquariums this November.
Forget wristbands, queues or the kind of ‘exclusive access’ that involves a spreadsheet – this one’s gloriously simple. Over 30 venues across Brighton and Hove will be slinging special £9.50 cocktails all week, from boozy brunch spots and restaurants to proper cocktail temples. Think Burnt Orange, The Coal Shed, Bottom’s Rest, No 124, Blossoms, Twisted Lemon, and more.
And if you, like us, are incapable of just sitting quietly and sipping, there are also a bunch of excellent one-off (ticketed) events that crank things up a notch. You can drink martinis like a pro on the Ramsbury Martini Trail, concoct your own gin at Brighton Gin School, or watch Pulp Fiction while sipping a themed cocktail (there’s a Hocus Pocus version too AND you can add on a three-course meal). Even the dogs get in on the action at Cocktails & Wagging Tails at Brighton Toy & Model Museum on Sunday – proof, if needed, that Brighton remains undefeated in the “things most other cities could never dream up” stakes.
If that’s not enough, there’s Reach for the Stars, where guest bartenders shake things up in the i360 pod and Cocktails & Canapés Under the Sea at Sea Life, where you can drink cocktails from some of the city’s top shakers in the company of actual fish. It’s a little bit surreal and all the better for it.
Behind it all is the Bite Sussex crew – the folks who’ve been championing local food and drink since the Hove Lawns festival days. They’ve taken everything they know about mixing a good time and poured it into this citywide celebration of Sussex spirits and Brighton creativity.
So, clear your calendar, line your stomach and prepare for nine days of beautifully mixed Brighton drinks.
Brighton Cocktail Week runs from Saturday 1st – Sunday 9th November, 2025; various venues; free
brightoncocktailweek.com
