The two of them worked mainly from Sharman-Cox’s flat in west London taking on board some of the biggest drinks brands in the industry. Then in 2014 Difford sold LCW to Speciality Drinks and they got their own office and warehouse space where the girls were able to start properly monetising the festival.
In 2015, Siobhan was voted number 12 in the Event 100 Club, a list of the 100 most influential people in the events industry and LCW was voted Best Event in London for two consecutive years between 2015-2016 at the Design My Night awards, while Sharman-Cox placed 56th in Drinks International's Bar World 100.
One of the biggest changes they introduced was the addition of a LCW hub, which acts as the focus point of the event where brands can activate in one area. The first three hubs were held at Old Spitafields Market and this year is the second time they’ve been based at Old Truman’s Brewery on Brick Lane.
For the 10th anniversary the festival will run over 10 days, including two weekends, with visitor numbers expected to be up on the 25,000 witnessed in 2018.
“We’ve always focused on the consumer and they’ve been at the heart of our decisions over the years,” adds Payne. “We want our visitors to be drinking the best cocktails in the best bars in London and we’ve done this by bridging the gap between the trade and consumers.”
Taking a concept back in 2010 and growing it to the heights of today have made Payne and Sharman-Cox household names among the London cocktail scene, but it’s not all glamour.
“We still have to clean the loos,” adds Sharman-Cox. “Everyone thinks we just go round sipping cocktails all week, but we’re still doing the hard graft. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point and some things just haven’t changed.”
London Cocktail Week runs from 4-13 October across the city with tickets costing £10 or free to selected trade.
LONDON COCKTAIL WEEK
Where: Various locations, Cocktail Village: The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane
When: 4-13 October
