York Cocktail Week starts
York Cocktail Week runs Friday April 17 through Sunday April 26, spans 10 days and 26 venues, and is offering cocktails priced from £5 at participating bars. (houseofyorkholidayhomes.substack.com) The program is built as a venue‑wide festival rather than a single marquee event, making it easy to hop multiple bars across the city. (houseofyorkholidayhomes.substack.com)
York Cocktail Week opens Friday, April 17, turning York’s bar scene into a 10-day wristband festival with discounted drinks across the city. (yorkcocktailweek.co.uk) The 2026 event runs through Sunday, April 26, and the official site says a single wristband unlocks “hundreds” of discounted cocktails, plus mocktails, food offers and extra deals at participating venues. (yorkcocktailweek.co.uk) Local listings and event pages say drinks start at £5, with many offers in the £5 to £7 range, and tickets for wristbands have been sold in tiers from £7.95 to £14.95 before fees. (york360.co.uk) (fatsoma.com) York Press reported on April 4 that 26 venues are taking part this year and described the event as returning for its second year. The paper said each venue is offering its own signature cocktail. (yorkpress.co.uk) That format makes the event less like a single-ticket tasting hall and more like a citywide crawl. The official site tells customers to wear the wristband in any participating venue during the full 10-day run. (yorkcocktailweek.co.uk) The organizers are also spreading activity across York rather than concentrating it in one square or one sponsor tent. The official pickup points alone are split between Ask Italian on Blake Street and Manahatta on Little Stonegate. (yorkcocktailweek.co.uk) Some venues are already using the week to market their own menus inside the larger event. SPARK says it is participating and promoting a signature drink called Lemondrop during the festival dates. (sparkyork.org) The official site says venue opening hours can vary and tells customers to check each bar or restaurant’s own website before heading out. Wristbands are valid for the entire event, not for a single day or session. (yorkcocktailweek.co.uk) For York bars and restaurants, the pitch is volume over one weekend spike: 10 days, repeat visits and a shared promotion across dozens of stops. For customers, the mechanics are simple — buy the wristband, collect it, and use it from April 17 to April 26. (yorkcocktailweek.co.uk)
