AJABU Cocktail & Spirits Festival returns to Cape Town for eight days of drinks and bar takeovers

Cape Town is preparing to shake, stir and pour its way into summer as the AJABU Cocktail & Spirits Festival returns from 14 to 22 November 2026.

The festival will bring together some of Africa’s bartenders, bars and drinks brands alongside international talent for eight days of events across the city.

Now in its sixth edition, AJABU will feature bar takeovers, guest shifts, collaborations, masterclasses, seminars, workshops, live music and immersive drinks experiences.

A Pan-African celebration of drinks and hospitality

AJABU was founded by Ghanaian bartender and drinks industry leader Colin Asare-Appiah and U’Luvka Vodka founder Mark Talbot Holmes.

Its name comes from the Swahili word for “something wondrous” or “miraculous”.

The festival grew from a shared vision to strengthen connections across Africa’s drinks and hospitality communities.

Following Asare-Appiah’s 2022 journey through South Africa, Cape Town became the home of the Pan-African celebration, which has grown into a platform for showcasing African talent, flavours, ingredients and ideas.

AJABU’s international reach is supported by media partner Drinks International, connecting Africa’s hospitality scene with the global drinks trade.

AJABU Tasting Tables kick off the festival

The programme begins with the AJABU Tasting Tables on Saturday, 14 November, at the European Bartender School in Woodstock.

Two sessions will take place, from 11am to 2:30pm and 3:30pm to 7pm.

Guests will have the opportunity to explore 20 craft spirit brands through tastings and cocktail masterclasses, accompanied by food, music and goodie bags.

Tickets for the Tasting Tables are R250.

Cape Town bars welcome international bartenders

Throughout the festival, Cape Town’s bars will become meeting points for local and international bartenders to exchange techniques, ideas and stories while creating cocktails.

Confirmed participants include Johannesburg favourites Sin + Tax, Obscura and Smoking Kills.

International teams and bartenders will join them from Mama Koko’s in Baltimore, Stone and Soil in New York, Bon Vivants in the Bahamas, Satan’s Whiskers and Cato in London, HERO in Nairobi, Front/Back and No.19 in Accra, Churchill Bar in London, and La Mamounia and Royal Mansour in Marrakesh.

A Cape Town connection to the Porn Star Martini

This year’s festival will also mark a piece of cocktail history with roots in Cape Town.

In 2001, Asare-Appiah and fellow Ghanaian bartender Douglas Ankrah opened LAB bar in Cape Town.

Ankrah later created the Porn Star Martini in London, which went on to become a modern classic.

To mark 25 years of its legacy, participating AJABU venues will serve their own interpretations of the cocktail at half price.

How much are AJABU festival passes?

Festival passes start at R100 for early birds until 14 September.

Seven-day passes are priced at R150, while eight-day passes cost R350.

Tickets and full programme details are available through Quicket.

With bartenders and bars from across Africa and further afield coming together in Cape Town, AJABU will once again put the city’s cocktail and hospitality scene in the spotlight from 14 to 22 November.

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