Everything you need to know about the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Cocktail Week 2024
In high spirits
For the first time ever, the city will see a tipples and spirits extravaganza with the arrival of the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Cocktail Week 2024 (KLCW). Taking place from 24 to 30 April 2024, the festival is set to bring together cocktail enthusiasts, bartenders, and brands alike for a week of exciting events and activities. The initiative was founded around the idea of putting the art of cocktails in the spotlight and spreading the tipple spirit. Here is a full rundown of what to expect at the week-long festival.
ON THE AGENDA
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KLCW has kicked off with a thrilling online cocktail competition dubbed the ‘KLCW Open 2024′, which aims to discover the bartending talent within Malaysia. The competition is open to bartenders from all over the country and requires participants to submit one cocktail recipe. Each recipe must contain at least 30ml of a KLCW sponsor brand’s liquor and follow the theme of ‘Local Malaysian Ingredients’. Guests can then witness the live final during KLCW’s Festival Village event at APW Bangsar.
Speaking of which, the Festival Village is a day-long cocktail fiesta that will be held in the middle of KLCW on 27 April 2024. The entire event will be dedicated to celebrating cocktails and the local drinks community. Its lineup of activities includes drinks booths, live music, masterclasses, games, and—of course—the KLCW Open live finals.
Throughout the other days of KLCW, the festival will take over five zones across the Klang Valley: Bangsar, Petaling Jaya/Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Damansara Heights, Chinatown, and KL City. Guests can expect a full schedule of exciting guest shifts, featuring bartenders from around the region, masterclasses, seminars, and cocktail pairing dinners.
THE FULL SCHEDULE
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24 APRIL 2024 (WEDNESDAY) – BANGSAR ZONE
- 6pm: Cocktail pairing dinner – Jwala x Michter’s x Rakh | Jwala | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Alice Cheongdam x Hendrick’s Gin | Three X Co | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Room by Le Kief x Roku | Rakh | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – Teens of Thailand x Backdoor Bodega x Dewars | Here & Now | Reservations
25 APRIL 2024 (THURSDAY) – PJ/TTDI ZONE
- 2pm: Seminar – ‘Wild Honey and The Wild Me’ with Niks Anuman (Founder of Teens of Thailand) brought to you by Hendrick’s Gin | Junglebird | Reservations
- 6pm: Cocktail pairing dinner – Terra Dining x Hendrick’s Gin x Three X Co | Terra Dining | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Alice Cheongdam x Hendrick’s Gin | Soma | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – GOD Bangkok x Dewar’s | Ikiya 2.0 | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – Last Word x Tanqueray | Remedy | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – Room by Le Kief x Roku | Terumi | Reservations
26 APRIL 2024 (FRIDAY) – DAMANSARA HEIGHTS ZONE
- 6pm: Cocktail pairing dinner – Jus x Dewar’s | Jus, APW Bangsar | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Bar Leone x Cocchi | Junglebird | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Nutmeg & Clove x Tanqueray | Skullduggery | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – Tokyo Confidential x Nikka | Reka | Reservations
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27 APRIL 2024 (SATURDAY) – FESTIVAL VILLAGE @ APW BANGSAR
- KLCW Festival Village | Tickets
- 3pm: Masterclass – Cocchi aperitivo by Mattia Coppo | Reservations – open to public | Language: English
- 4pm: Masterclass – Dewar’s whisky by Dexter Ng | Reservations – open to public | Language: Chinese
- 5pm: Masterclass – Michter’s bourbon by Ethan Chai | Reservations – open to public | Language: English
- 5pm: KLCW Open 2024 competition finals | included in entry ticket
- 6pm: Masterclass – Roku Gin by Jordan Lim | Reservations – open to public | Language: English
- 7pm: Masterclass – Monkey Shoulder whisky by Boon Leong | Reservations – open to public | Language: English
- 8pm: Masterclass – Tanqueray gin by Amanda Wan Winchester | Reservations – open to public | Language: English
- 9pm: Masterclass – Dewar’s whisky by Dexter Ng | Reservations – open to public | Language: English
28 APRIL 2024 (SUNDAY) – CHINATOWN ZONE
- 7:45am: Be-Well sightseeing run by Bacardi | Starting at Four Points Sheraton Chinatown | Reservations
- 2:30pm: Seminar – ‘Better Mentorship Through Better Culture’ with Indra Kantono (founder & owner of Singapore’s Jigger & Pony Group) brought to you by Monkey Shoulder | Trigona | Reservations
- 6pm: Cocktail pairing dinner – Yellow Fin Horse x Tanqueray | Yellow Fin Horse, Else Retreats | Reservations
- 7pm: Guest shift – Bar Long Fong x JWC Cabinet x Michter’s | Cabinet 8 | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Sidecar x Monkey Shoulder | Jann, Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur, Chinatown | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – The Cocktail Club x Bombay Sapphire | Concubine | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – Cosmo Pony x Rémy Martin | Penrose | Reservations
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29 APRIL 2024 (MONDAY) – KUALA LUMPUR ZONE 1
- 2:30pm: Seminar – ‘Knowing Yourself, Wonderful You’ with Yangdup Lama (founder of Sidecar and Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy), brought to you by Bombay Sapphire | Astor Bar, St. Regis Kuala Lumpur | Reservations
- 6pm: Cocktail pairing dinner – BarKar x Rémy Martin x Penrose | BarKar | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Atlas x Michter’s | Bar Trigona, Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Bar Leone x Cocchi | Frank’s Bar | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – The Cocktail Club x Bombay Sapphire | Joloko | Reservations
30 APRIL 2024 (TUESDAY) – KUALA LUMPUR ZONE 2
- 6pm and 8pm: Cocktail pairing dinner – Waig x Roku Gin x Reka | Waig, APW Bangsar | Reservations
- 8pm: Guest shift – Sidecar x Monkey Shoulder | Vér | Reservations
- 9pm: Guest shift – Employees Only x Rémy Martin | Trigona | Reservations
Tickets and reservations for all events and activities can also be found on KL Cocktail Week’s official website and on Funnow’s website.
PARTICIPATING BARS AND BRANDS
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The festival will see both local and international bartenders stepping up to show off their talents and finesse. The participating KL bars are: Bar Trigona, Concubine, Frank’s, Here & Now, Ikiya 2.0, Jann, Joloko, JungleBird, JWC Cabinet, Penrose, Rakh, Reka, Remedy, Skullduggery, Soma, Terumi, Three X Co., and Vér.
Slated to appear alongside our local cocktail talents is an incredible roster of international bars that are flying in for the week. We will see bartenders and tipple experts flying in from different corners of the region including Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Here is the full lineup of visiting bars: Alice Cheongdam (Seoul, South Korea), Atlas (Singapore), Bar Long Fong (Beijing, China), Bar Leone (Hong Kong), Cosmo Pony (Jakarta, Indonesia), Employees Only (Singapore), GOD (Bangkok, Thailand), Nutmeg & Clove (Singapore), Last Word (Singapore), Room By Lekief (Taipei, Taiwan), Sidecar (New Delhi, India), Teens of Thailand (Bangkok, Thailand), The Cocktail Club (Jakarta, Indonesia) and Tokyo Confidential (Tokyo, Japan).
KL Cocktail Week 2024 is also proudly supported by a bevvy of brands and venue partners, such as Bombay Sapphire, Hendrick’s Gin, Roku Gin, and APW Bangsar. You’ll be able to get a taste of the spirits throughout the week at guest shifts, during the Festival Village, and more.
THE COMMITTEE
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Putting this week-long festival together is a passionate committee made up of individuals from different corners of the food and drink industry, including bar owners, drink writers, and more. The committee members are Angeline Tan of Three X Co.; Jin Boone Ooi of Wholly Spirits; Divyesh Chuhan, Joshua Ivanovic, and Lolita Goh of Junglebird; Jon Lee and Matthew Goh of Penrose; Nick Choo of Reka; Nicholas Ng of Food For Thought and Tipple.my; and Rohan Matmary of Bar Trigona.
“While our neighbours have successfully launched their own cocktail festivals, it is high time that Kuala Lumpur has its own,” shares committee member Nicholas Ng. “As a country with a developing cocktail scene, it’s beautiful to watch an industry that has continuously found ways to support each other.”
“The idea of KLCW started with the need to celebrate the bar community and to showcase it to a much wider audience,” adds Three X Co co-founder and KLCW committee member Angeline Tan. “As we embark on this quest, we are very grateful to meet many good people along the way who share our vision and help us with their time and creativity.”
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