{"id":23656,"date":"2025-05-21T12:26:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T09:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/?p=23656"},"modified":"2025-05-21T13:16:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T10:16:12","slug":"yerevan-cocktail-week-2025-the-caucasian-metamorphosis-of-a-bar-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/yerevan-cocktail-week-2025-the-caucasian-metamorphosis-of-a-bar-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"Yerevan Cocktail Week 2025: the ”Caucasian” metamorphosis of a bar scene"},"content":{"rendered":"
Original article in Greek<\/h5>\n

In a city that straddles history and modern energy, Yerevan Cocktail Week 2025 felt like a quiet but defining transformation \u2014 not the surreal kind of Kafka\u2019s, but something deliberate and real: a bar culture blooming into a mature, self-aware expression of true hospitality. The third edition of Yerevan Cocktail Week unfolded this May in Armenia\u2019s lush and welcoming capital. I had the privilege of attending the very first one back in 2023, so this return gave me a front-row seat to how both the festival and the local bar scene have grown \u2014 not only in size but in soul.<\/em><\/h4>\n
\"\"

Gegam Kazarian<\/p><\/div>\n

A festival with a pulse of its own<\/h3>\n

As I\u2019ve written before, Yerevan Cocktail Week<\/strong> is unlike most cocktail festivals around the world. Yes, it celebrates drinks \u2014 but it intertwines them with culture, identity, and place. This year, international guests weren\u2019t just offered cocktails; they were immersed in Armenian music, dance, and the powerful, unspoken ritual of hospitality. That spirit of hospitality had been the through-line of the entire week. You could feel it in every venue, whether wine bar or cocktail lounge, and in every encounter, planned or spontaneous.<\/p>\n

The steady force behind all three editions of the event is its founder: bartender, hospitality professional, and above all, consummate host, Gegam Kazarian<\/strong>. A true industry nomad with experience in dozens of countries, Gegam envisioned a festival that would place Yerevan<\/strong> on the global cocktail map. And he wasn\u2019t alone. Alongside him was a generation of skilled bartenders, innovative producers, and ambitious entrepreneurs \u2014 all ready for the international spotlight.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/div>\n

The week in motion<\/h3>\n

This year\u2019s program was rich and thoughtfully layered: from opening and closing ceremonies to cultural tours, morning seminars, and workshops. By night, the city turned into a pulsating party \u2014 with theme nights and bar takeovers from visiting bartenders around the world. In between, we explored Armenian cuisine and its ingredients, visited local markets, tasted spirits and wines, and of course, danced. Yes, all of us.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t just a one-way exchange. The international guests brought with them deep knowledge, stories, and experience. Through their talks, their seminars \u2014 and their cocktails \u2014 they shared generously with local professionals and the curious public alike. The educational agenda covered a wide spectrum: tequila and whisky categories, cocktail classics, fermentation techniques, bar operations, responsible consumption, and the philosophy of hospitality itself.<\/p>\n

\"Yerevan

Julio Bermejo, Gegam Kazarian, Josh Harris<\/p><\/div>\n

Standout moments<\/h3>\n

From the talks I managed to attend, I can recall the following:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Gegam Kazarian\u2019s own seminar was a genuinely immersive dive into his work philosophy and ethos \u2014 the same principles that underpin his newly founded cordial brand, MaGiKa likid\u014d.
\u2013 A frank, practical walk-through of bar operations by the ever-joyful yet razor-sharp Zoltan Nagy<\/strong>.
\u2013 A technical, eye-opening fermentation workshop by Denis Pashkov<\/strong> and Irina Koroleva<\/strong>.
\u2013 An inspiring keynote by Spyros Vrady<\/strong> from Corfu, titled \u201cThink Local \u2013 Act Global.\u201d<\/em>
\u2013 And of course, I had the chance to give my own seminar on the differences between Cognac and Armenian brandy.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, having arrived mid-week, I missed presentations from other luminaries like Philip Duff<\/strong>, Josh Harris<\/strong>, Julio Bermejo<\/strong> (stay tuned \u2014 exclusive interview coming soon), Mauro Mahjoub<\/strong>, Vladimir Zhuravlev<\/strong>, Martin Stein<\/strong>, Cristian Bugiada<\/strong>, and Roberto Artusio<\/strong>, just to name a few.<\/p>\n

A finale to remember<\/h3>\n

The festival wrapped up in spectacular fashion. At the Radisson Blu<\/strong>, which hosted the international guests, a true celebration took place \u2014 unlike anything I\u2019ve experienced in a bar-related event. Folklore met the modern, music and dance flowed with laughter, hugs, and joy, and cocktails poured endlessly. A highlight of the evening was the awards ceremony<\/strong>, recognizing the city\u2019s best bars across different categories. And right after that, we all spilled out into the streets and into the bars of Yerevan \u2014 one last adventure before our flights home.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"Yerevan\"\"<\/div>\n

What made it special<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve been to dozens of drinks industry events, but what I felt in Yerevan was entirely different \u2014 something raw, heartfelt, and genuinely moving. It was the hospitality, yes \u2014 offered not just by Gegam and his team, but by the city itself. And it was also the hunger of Armenia\u2019s bar scene: a thirst for learning, for inclusion, for excellence. It\u2019s something you often find in emerging markets \u2014 a kind of buzzing energy that\u2019s both instinctive and unfiltered. And once you feel it, it\u2019s very, very hard to forget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original article in Greek In a city that straddles history and modern energy, Yerevan Cocktail Week 2025 felt like a quiet but defining transformation \u2014 not the surreal kind of Kafka\u2019s, but something deliberate and real: a bar culture blooming into a mature, self-aware expression of true hospitality. The third edition of Yerevan Cocktail Week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2325,1840],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-en","category-competitions-en"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/DSC06159.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23656"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23713,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23656\/revisions\/23713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitterbooze.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}