Geelong bars mix together for cocktail crawl

A unique bar-hopping experience is headed to Geelong next weekend, offering cocktail lovers an opportunity to explore the city’s vibrant bar scene.

Eight different venues across Geelong’s CBD, each showcasing a signature cocktail, will feature in this year’s Urban Cocktail Trail on April 6.

The self-guided, “choose-your-own-adventure” tour promises an afternoon of carefree fun and allows participants to select where they stop and sip.

The event is organised by Neighbourhood Events Co, an Australian business that has been running neighbourhood-based events for about eight years across the country and New Zealand.

It also just recently launched in New York.

Events and experiences manager David Heath said the trail showcased “the best of the best” in the region.

“The venues are the hero.

“It gives people in an area, visitors or locals, the chance to really get in and see multiple venues that they might not have seen before, or their favourites who are showcasing a cocktail that really just [highlights] what they do best.

“A big sign of success for us is if, at the end of the day, we hear someone say ‘I didn’t even know this place was here’, or ‘How good was that? We have to come back here’.”

Participants will begin the trail at 1pm at their venue of choice with a bite to eat, before exploring the other bars on offer, including the award-winning 18th Amendment Bar, 1970s-themed There There, and trendy Justin Lane.

Heath said the event was ideal for anyone who loves “great events, great times and amazing cocktails”.

“It caters to whether or not you’re a cocktail connoisseur or you just want a day out with friends and want to experience that particular neighbourhood.

“It really caters to it all; it’s a fun afternoon.

“The crowds that we get are just always so lovely.

“It’s people that really are there to enjoy the afternoon and love it for what it is.”

The Urban Cocktail Trail will take place on April 6 between 1-5pm.

For more information or to purchase tickets, head to urbancocktailtrail.com