AJABU Cocktail and Spirits Festival Returns for Second Installment in South Africa

AJABU, Africa's first bi-annual international Cocktail and Spirits festival, returns to Cape Town, South Africa, from Wednesday, November 20th to Sunday, November 24th, with another thrilling program of world-renowned, international bars, diverse educational seminars and panels, and exciting new opportunities, such as the AJABU Scholarship Program. 

Curated by Colin Asare-Appiah (Bar World 100 Most Influential Figures 2023, Co-Author Black Mixcellence, Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s 2024 Visionary Award Recipient) and Mark Talbot Holmes (founder of U'Luvka Vodka), AJABU – meaning ‘miraculous’ or ‘wondrous’ – aims to become Africa's leading spirits and cocktail festival. As its name suggests, the festival embraces the amazing diversity of the hospitality industry across Africa, connecting brands, bar trade, media, and cocktail enthusiasts, whilst supporting a new generation of African bartenders and hospitality professionals.

The second festival will include bartenders from up to 10 internationally acclaimed bars, spanning four continents, including Milady’s (New York), True Laurel (San Francisco), Jewel of the South (New Orleans), Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City), Atwater Cocktail Club (Montreal), Front/Back (Accra), Hero Bar (Nairobi), Jigger and Pony (Singapore), and Library by the Sea (Turks and Caicos). These global bars will each collaborate with the following outstanding local Cape Town bars to deliver exquisite and unique cocktail experiences celebrating African ingredients over three nights: Cause Effect, Tommy’s Chop Shop, Art of Duplicity, Hacienda, The Drinkery, The House of Machines, Anthm, Kloof Street House, Talking to Strangers, Fable and Tjing Tjing. 

“We are excited to bring AJABU back to Cape Town, with another fantastic group of accomplished bars,” says Talbot Holmes. “We’re looking forward to seeing these bartenders work alongside the equally outstanding local establishments in one-of-a-kind pop-ups and informative seminars.”

AJABU will host a series of seminars and masterclasses for consumers, cocktail enthusiasts, spirits aficionados, and other members of the bar industry. These events will be led by renowned industry veterans, such as Steve Olson, (co-founder Del Maguey, co-founder BAR Academy, co-founder Stray Dog Gin and partner in Rieger Whisky), who will be leading masterclasses on Bourbon, Rye, and Kansas City whisky, Simon Ford (founder of Fords Gin), who will discuss all things gin, and more. 

New this year is the AJABU Scholarship Program, which is designed to uplift the African bar community specifically through educational, hospitality-focused courses. Educational institutions, brands, businesses, and even individuals are invited to get involved through direct donations or purchase of courses, which have been provided by Professional Bar Training, Edinburgh Whisky Academy, and Wine & Spirits Education Trust. While some courses have been allocated for the Sisterhood for Industry Support–one of AJABU’s several official charity partners–the remainder are available to any African-based applicant who works in the drinks industry. 

Bartenders across the continent were invited to submit their applications during the rolling period, which has now closed as the select scholars will be judged and chosen by an independent scholarship board. Current board members include Eileen Wayner (CEO Tales of the Cocktail, USA), Charlie McCarthy (Business Development – Spirits at WSET, UK), Christelle Reade-Jahn (Director SA Brandy Foundation, SA), Kojo Aidoo (Director Front Back, Ghana), Riche Barrow (F&B Manager Hero Bar, Kenya), Cairbry Hill (Professional Bar Training) and Cloé Auger (Global Trade Advocacy Manager Campari, Italy). Scholarship winners will be announced in the beginning of November and awarded at the Community Brunch celebration on Thursday, November 21st. 

“The inaugural AJABU Festival was a remarkable first step in our mission to showcase Africa’s vibrant hospitality scene through pop-ups, panels, and tastings,” says Asare Appiah. “To now introduce a scholarship program for bartenders across the continent, allowing them to hone their craft and deepen their expertise, is a milestone beyond anything I could have envisioned when we embarked on this journey.”

AJABU Festival debuted in Johannesburg and Cape Town this past March, to an incredible, unforeseen reception, welcoming 15 participating global bartenders, 13 local partner bars, almost 2,000 pop-up attendees, 150 community brunch attendees, and 290 tasting table attendees across the two cities. 

Ticket registrations for this fall’s festival are available to book via Quicket. AJABU will host its third week-long event across both Johannesburg and Cape Town in March, in partnership with Cape Town Beverage Show.

For more information, please follow along at @ajabufestival.