Dana Dufek
l.-r.: Ryan Miller, Katy Wade and Kenzi Palmer of Kansas City competing in the Blender Bender on October 11, 2017 at Nomad World Pub.
For those wondering if they somehow missed Madison Cocktail Week this fall, don’t worry — you’re not having an alcohol-induced memory lapse. Organizers decided to take a step back in 2018 to reevaluate the event and brainstorm what it might look like going forward.
Launched in February 2015 as a prelude to Madison’s annual Distill America spirits-tasting event, Cocktail Week became a standalone event in October 2016 and in the next year settled into its quirky hybrid identity: part bacchanal, part service-industry conference. “It’s been a blast,” says co-organizer Tom Dufek, who works as director of bar and operations at Merchant. “It hasn’t been a bad experience, but we want to make it more sustainable for everybody involved.”
Cocktail Week has drawn bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts from out of state, but Dufek says the event has fallen short of his goal to put Madison on the map as a cocktail destination. “We’ve made some strides in that area, but I know we’ve had some events in the past where they haven’t been as well attended as we’d have liked, because everyone is out until midnight or 1 a.m. the night before.”
But this doesn’t mean that beloved Cocktail Week events are going away — Dufek and his co-organizers are taking some time over the holidays to brainstorm ways to tweak the format. There won’t be drastic changes in programming, but the events will likely be spread throughout the year instead of packed into one exhausting, boozy week. Which events will stay is yet to be decided, but Dufek anticipates that favorites like the “Dancing with the Startenders” competition, educational seminars and the spirit-pairing dinners will all make the cut. And there’s a strong possibility of new events, too.
“Our hope is that each event will have more impact,” Dufek says.
