Negroni Week's Global Reach
When Negroni Week launched in 2013, about 120 venues across the country participated, with a handful of bars in Canada and just a couple abroad, all of whom raised about $10,000 for a variety of charities. By year two, word had spread, and the number of participants grew exponentially to more than 1,200 around the globe, raising more than $120,000 for charity. In 2014, participation nearly tripled, with over 3,500 venues raising more than $320,000!
Now in year four, we are hoping to surpass these numbers yet again, with hundreds of bars and restaurants signing up every day as we count down to June 6. Especially exciting is the expanding international participation. Bars and restaurants from 36 countries have registered so far, from Canada to Cambodia, and Belgium to Brazil. We’ve even seen participants from as far as Lebanon, Israel and Nigeria.
“Although Negronis haven’t emerged among general consumers in Japan yet, I would like to connect with world bar trends and inspire others in the industry on Japanese bartending through the event,” says Shinobu Ishigaki, owner and lead bartender of Ishino Hana Bar in Tokyo.
At Che Culo! in Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh, co-owner Daniel Jury has seen the wide-reaching influence of craft cocktail culture (one of their Negronis is pictured above). “The Phnom Penh cocktail scene is developing fast and has come a long way in the past 18 months that we’ve been operating,” says Jury. “There are some really accomplished bartenders here now like Nick Hattingh here at Che Culo!, Jen Queen at Elbow Room and Annemarie Sagoi at Le Boutier.”
Jury heard about Negroni Week from friends in Australia, which itself is a huge participant with more than 150 venues signed up already. “Our bar takes much of it’s inspiration from the Mediterranean region and the Negroni is front and center on the drinks menu,” says Jury. “Plus we are always looking for interesting and fun ways to raise money for local causes and Negroni Week is a perfect way to do that for us. As you can imagine, in a developing country like Cambodia there are a million different causes that need support, and we are stoked to participate in an event that also does a lot of good.”
Source: Negroni Week, 31st May 2016
