Danilo Bellucci (centre) with the participants of Lady Drink 2023.
The first barmaid we know of was Ada Coleman, head of the American Bar of the Savoy Hotel in London from 1903 to 1926 and creator of the Hanky Panky cocktail, which has been included in the official list of the International Bartenders Association since 2020.
For a long time, Ada was an exception in the predominantly male world of mixology and therefore she deserves credit for her role as a pioneer of a profession that today is increasingly seen as feminine.
In supporting the commitment of women with shakers and mixing glasses in Italy, the role played by the Lady Drink event in the last thirty years cannot be underestimated.
It was in 1996 that Danilo Bellucci, a leading figure in the Italian bartending sector, decided to organize the first edition of Lady Drink in Perugia, an event which has become an event of ever greater prestige and importance year after year.
In fact, Lady Drink is not just a competition in which barmaids compete with their creations to confirm established professionals and discover new talents. It is also a moment of training and growth thanks to the comparison with colleagues, opinion leaders and producers of liqueurs and spirits.
Lady drink 2024 will be held on March 11th at the Savoy Beach Hotel & Thermal Spa in Bibione with the proven competition formula on the three categories Pre Dinner, After Dinner and Long Drink. Among the hundreds of requests to participate from all over Italy, the jury has selected the 45 competitors who will bring their original recipes to the competition.
This year will also make its debut the new competition for the title of Lady Drink International which will see 12 barmaids involved, accompanied by the presidents of the respective national associations, representing Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
Vinophila is the metaverse partner of the event and live coverage of the competitions will be broadcast in our event room starting from 2.30pm on Monday 11 March.
P.S. Hanky Panky was created for the English actor Charles Hawtrey, who at the end of an evening of work asked Ada Coleman for an energizing drink.The recipe: pour 45 ml of gin, 45 ml of red vermouth and 7.5 ml of Fernet Branca in the mixing glass with some ice cubes and stir gently, filter with the strainer into a previously cooled cocktail glass and decorate with an orange peel.
