Negroni Week cocktail festival comes to Brisbane

One of Brisbane’s best food precincts will be transformed into a cocktail playground, with a new festival set to deliver unbelievable new drinks.

Get ready to paint the town red, with Negroni Week set to take over one of ­Brisbane’s best food and drink destinations.

From September 12-18, South Brisbane’s Fish Lane Arts precinct will celebrate the classic scarlet-hued drink with a host of events, activities and bespoke negronis.

Top-notch restaurants and bars in the culinary mecca – Billykart, Bar Brutus, Chu The Phat, Hello Please, Julius, Kiki, La Lune Wine Co, Maker, Maeve Wine Bar, Southside and Saccharomyces will be serving more than 40 signature versions of the cocktail typically made with gin, vermouth and ­Campari, as well as dishes and desserts all influenced by the classic drink.

Stefan Angelovski of Bar Brutus and Jay Lambert of Campari will be participating in Negroni Week at Fish Lane, South Brisbane. Picture: David Clark

Diners can expect everything from a ceviche of kingfish with negroni gel and puffed rice at La Lune Wine Co to negroni duck a l’orange at Saccharomyces; as well as creative cocktails such as a rosella negroni with rosella vermouth at Maeve Wine Bar to a plum negroni at Hello Please.

Bar Brutus has also put its creative cap on, inventing a milk punch negroni and a cherry ripe version, with both available at their pop-up bar and real bar throughout the week.

“Basically, everyone loves a cherry ripe and we’re trying to mix the classic drink with something that’s a bit more approachable for the general public,” Bar Brutus co-owner Stefan Angelovski said.

The week-long festivities will also include three events: The free Town Square Block party on September 16-17, the Negroni Trail on September 17 ($79pp), and an Aperitvo Afternoon on September 18 ($59pp).

The first event will sell five negroni-style drinks in a fun party atmosphere. The second is a self-guided trail, including four drink tokens and a snack token for the negroni menu at any participating venues. The aperitivo afternoon will be a relaxed experience, including a negroni on arrival and a charcuterie box.

Negroni Week will raise money for charity organisation Slow Food, which allows people access to food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet.

“Hopefully, it’s going to bring in like-minded individuals and a community that are interested in aperitivo-style drinks and foodies and they can get involved,” Angelovski said.

Tickets are expected to sell out fast.

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