My Big Idea: Alice Christison's UK Cocktail Weeks

Alice, for those who don’t know you yet, how would you describe what you do in a nutshell?

I run UK Cocktail Week, a series of events that celebrate cocktails, bars, and restaurants, while putting cities firmly on the food and drink map. My role is all about spotlighting and bringing together venues, brands, and customers to showcase local hospitality and help bars boost visibility and footfall.

I lead an incredible team at M-AD Agency, where we manage everything from marketing and partnerships to large-scale event coordination. Together with our sponsors and venue partners, we create experiences that uplift and support the hospitality industry.

What inspired you to launch UK Cocktail Week?

I’ve always been passionate about restaurants, bars, and great cocktails, I just love the hospitality industry.

The idea for Cocktail Week was born after the pandemic, when so many venues were struggling. I wanted to do something tangible to help the sector bounce back. Dundee Cocktail Week was the first event we ran, with a simple goal: get people back into venues, remind them how special their local bars are, and give the trade a much-needed boost.

Once we saw the impact, packed venues, positive press, and happy wristband holders, we knew we had something that could work nationally. That’s when UK Cocktail Week really took off.

Why do you think Cocktail Week has resonated so strongly with people and the industry?

Because it’s built around the people who make hospitality special, the bars, restaurants, and its about keeping it local.

Every city’s event is tailored to celebrate what makes that place unique. We work directly with venues, listen to their ideas, and create something that feels authentic to them. Customers get to explore amazing cocktails at accessible prices, while venues see real results, increased bookings, new customers, more exposure, and stronger sales.

It’s not just an event, it’s a partnership between us and the hospitality industry.

How has the event grown since it first launched?

It’s been an incredible journey. We started in Dundee, and now UK Cocktail Week runs in over 19 cities across the UK and Ireland, with more than 700 venues taking part and counting.

The impact has been huge, both for customers and for local economies. Our events have delivered an eight-figure boost to the hospitality sector and helped people rediscover their city centres, discovering hidden gems along the way.

We’ve also just expanded internationally with our first edition in Dublin, which was a major milestone for us. It’s been amazing to see how much people have loved cocktail week!

What do you think has been the key to making Cocktail Week work?

Collaboration, consistency, and trusting my gut.

From day one, we’ve put venues at the heart of everything we do. We make sure they feel supported and see real results. My team and I are very hands-on, we visit every city, do the research, and make sure each Cocktail Week reflects the bars and restaurants within it.

After every event, we review, improve, and refine. The commitment to constant growth and attention to detail has helped us scale quickly while keeping the quality and impact high.

What sets your approach apart from other food and drink festivals?

Everything is managed in-house, from marketing and branding to logistics and coordination. We’ve built an amazing team that all work together to make sure every detail is right.

Our format is also completely different. Instead of hosting one central event, we turn an entire city into the festival, spreading the buzz across all participating bars and restaurants. It drives real footfall into venues rather than pulling it away.

We don’t just measure success by ticket sales, we measure it by feedback from local businesses and the satisfaction of our customers. That’s what sets us apart.

How do you spread the word and keep people excited year after year?

We stay on trend and keep our passion front and centre, everyone on the team genuinely loves bars and restaurants as much as I do, and it shows.

Each year, we try raise the bar with new cocktails, creative partnerships and elevated experiences. We also work closely with venues and influencers to build hype. People love seeing their favourite bars involved.

Our focus is always on making each year bigger, better, and more memorable than the last.

What tools or systems have helped you manage such a large operation across so many cities?

Organisation and communication are everything.

We’ve built systems that keep our branding, reporting, and marketing materials consistent across all locations, but we still leave space for each city to have its own creative touch.

Strong relationships, regular check-ins, and clear performance tracking help us stay aligned and deliver the same high standard everywhere we go.

What’s next for you and UK Cocktail Week?

We’re focused on smart growth, expanding into more cities while continuing to raise the standard of every single event. That means more venues, more experiences, bigger launch parties, and even better cocktails.

We’re also continuing our international journey following the success of Dublin, and I’d love to see Cocktail Week grow into a global celebration of hospitality.

At its heart, though, our mission remains the same: to support the industry, celebrate cocktails, and help people fall in love with their local bars all over again.