“It’s crazy to think it’s been 10 years. It’s been a real journey getting this far and we’ve got some big plans for this year’s festival,” says Sharman-Cox.

LCW is said to have injected more than £2m into the London bar industry since its inception in 2010 and although they’re celebrating the success of a landmark year, it hasn’t been without hard work.

Sharman-Cox adds: “There’s been times when it’s been so hard that we wanted to bang our heads against the wall and run away, but I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and I’m not sure I’d change things looking back. We learnt a lot in the process.”

Although Sharman-Cox trained as a tap dancer, while working in the US she was inspired by the late Sasha Petraske at Milk & Honey in New York City and landed herself a job with the London venue when it was launched by Jonathan Downey in 2002.

She continued working alongside Downey to launch venues under the Match Bar Group before moving into the world of PR with Simon Difford. The first major role she played for Difford was helping launch St Germain elderflower liqueur in 2007, before he suggested she set up and run London Cocktail Week.

“I managed to get through the first year but it was so intense that I told Difford that I needed someone else to work with,” she says.

This led to the formation of one of the industry’s most notorious duets that have nurtured London Cocktail Week into one of the biggest drinks festivals on the planet. And even though LCW barely made a profit in the first year, the combination of Payne and Sharman-Cox took things to a new level.

“Before I joined Hannah I was working on the second installation of UK Rum Fest with Ian Burrell and I just loved it,” says Payne. “I knew then that I wanted to work in this industry.”

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

CONSUMER TICKETS

PRESS TICKETS

TRADE EVENT HIGHLIGHTS 

The Essence House by The London Essence Company, 3-5 October, Covent Garden

A personalised journey through flavour, which will treat you to a scientifically matched cocktail.

TRADE ONLY: BEAT Bus, 10-11 October, across London

A secret Whatsapp group will notify bartenders of it's location and the bus wil tour the city and various partner bars.

NYC in LDN – Davies and Brook cocktail debut and Claridge’s takeover 5 October, Mayfair, 9pm-12am

Eleven Madison Park and The Nomad’s Leo Robitschek and Pietro Collina will be at Claridge’s Bar.

TRADE ONLY: Hendrick’s Gin Tini Martini Townhouse, 6 October, Shoreditch 

Hendrick’s is opening its Gin Tini Martini Townhouse, with drinks by Little Red Door and Panda & Sons.

Tokyo’s Star Bar flies to Sexy Fish, 6-7 October, Mayfair

Sexy Fish is hosting a one-off cocktail pop-up with legendary Japanese venue Star Bar. 

TRADE ONLY: Belvedere presents Belvebowling, 7 October, Soho

Join Belvedere vodka for its first ever bartender bowling competition.

TRADE ONLY: How Brewdog made a gin, 7 October, Shoreditch

Meet the man behind the creation of Brewdog Distilling’s Lone Wolf gin, Steven Kersley. 

TRADE ONLY: After Hours, hosted by Max Venning & Pippa Guy, 11 October, Shoreditch 

An ‘after hours’ gathering for bartenders courtesy of Schweppes and Coca-Cola Signature Mixers.