ABOUT

The Bartenders’ Weekender is a three day long weekend for bartenders and drinks professionals in June 2024 in Brisbane, Queensland. Over 30 events across three days are planned, with bartenders from across Australia invited to get involved, collaborate with likeminded interstate and international peers, learn, network and celebrate. The inaugural Bartenders’ Weekender will launch in Brisbane, to showcase the city’s booming bar scene, and the talented drinks professionals working there to a wider audience.

WHO’S BEHIND IT?

Penny Sippe is a passionate supporter of Australia’s bars and the bartenders behind them. Penny has spent over 20 years in the marketing and events industry, creating memorable, unique and newsworthy brand experiences for both consumers and trade within the Australian drinks industry, including nine and a half years managing sponsorship, events and public relations for Bacardi-Martini Australia. In 2020, during an unprecedented pandemic era shutdown of the hospitality industry, Penny launched Australian Cocktail Month, which ran for two years, encouraging the public back into our bars and to support bartenders behind the stick.

Sam Bygrave is the editor and founder of Boothby, where he writes, shoots, and talks about bars, bartenders and drinks. He hosts the Drinks At Work podcast, and presents the Boothby Drink of the Year awards and the Boothby Best Bars Awards. Sam landed at number 90 on the 2023 Bar World 100, the list of the world’s most influential bar industry figures published by the UK’s Drinks International. Since 2018, Sam has been the Oceania academy chair for the World’s 50 Best Bars, and is the Asia-Pacific co-chair for Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards. He has been a judge at Tasting Australia, and head judge at the Perth Royal Spirits Awards and the prestigious Australian Distilled Spirits Awards. He spent eight years as editor of industry monthly Australian Bartender magazine, and his work has appeared in Drinks International, The Spirits Business, and Imbibe UK among others.

If you are interested in sponsoring an event, contact Penny Sippe on penny@australiancocktailmonth.com.au.