There’s a certain magic that happens when music meets a well-crafted drink—and Yerevan Cocktail Week 2025 leans into that harmony with poetic flair. This year’s theme, Music in a Glass, sets the tone for a celebration that runs from May 5 to 11, transforming Armenia’s capital into a vibrant stage of mixology, melody, and shared ritual. Eighteen of the city’s finest bars, some twenty international guests, and a host of Armenian musicians come together for a week of tastings, live concerts, talks, masterclasses, and creative workshops.
Yerevan Cocktail Week 2025, the Rhythm of a Young Tradition
Yerevan Cocktail Week took its first bow in 2022, the vision of Gegam Kazarian—better known as Kazaris—who had two clear ambitions. First, to place Armenia squarely on the map for cocktail lovers. Second, to open a dialogue between local bartenders and some of the world’s most respected figures in the field. Three years on, the festival has found its voice and is fast becoming a fixture worth circling on the global bar calendar.
A Theme That Resonates
This year’s lineup includes eighteen venues, each bringing its own signature style: Beatles, Blue Gold, Daboo, Epos, Gabriel’s (at the Alexander Hotel), Gustav, Minas, Montmartre (within the Paris Hotel), Oops, Openhaus, Panda Roof Top, Pablo, Persona, Phoenix, Simona, TBC, The Kond House, and Vlaga.
Each bar is tasked with creating two original recipes—one spirited, the other either low-ABV or alcohol-free—interpreting the idea of music through the lens of flavor. Whether drawn from a musical genre like jazz or folk, the rhythm of a melody, the soul of an instrument, or the story behind a legendary artist, inspiration is as boundless as imagination.
Music as Ingredient
If the theme is Music in a Glass, then the presence of live performances is not just fitting—it’s essential. Throughout the week, Yerevan plays host to artists like Miqael Voskanyan, Kayt Band, Katil Band, and Tari Par. The Karin Ensemble, revered for preserving Armenia’s ancient dances and ceremonial choreography, also takes the stage. But these musicians aren’t just entertainers—they’re collaborators. In an inspired twist, they work alongside bartenders as creative consultants, offering rhythm, emotion, and cultural nuance as the raw materials for cocktail invention. Music, in this context, becomes not a backdrop, but an ingredient.
Yerevan Cocktail Week 2025, the Global Guests
No cocktail week worth its bitters is complete without its international voices. Yerevan 2025 welcomes some of the most respected names in the industry: Mauro Mahjoub (the Negroni king), Philip Duff (founder of Liquid Solutions), Julio Bermejo (creator of the Tommy’s Margarita), Josh Harris (Trick Dog founder), Federico Bellanca (journalist and drinks expert), Yiannis Korovesis (Bitter Booze founder), Spyridonas Vradis (head of Bar Academy Greece), and Cristian Bugiada (the mind behind Freni e Frizioni).
Also joining are Roberto Artusio (Roma Bar Show and La Punta), Andrei Udovitsa (bar trainer), Vladimir Zhuravliov (educator and mixologist), Gregorie Schnerb (a.k.a. The Cocktail Butcher), Irina Koroleva (hospitality consultant), Juan Carlos Maroto (bar consultant), Denis Pashkov (DrinkEasy founder), Giacomo Iacobellis (sommelier and Gambero Rosso journalist), Martin Stein (senior editor at Mixology Magazine), and Zoltán Nagy (columnist and editorial voice).
Images courtesy Yerevan Cocktail Week
