Nairobi Shakes Up the Scene: Kenya Bartender Week Brings Global Cocktail Culture to East Africa
This article was written by Shona Conde who was in Nairobi in August and September for the Inaugural Kenya Bartender Week.
Worldwide Bartender Week by Hanna Lee Communications
Announces the First-Ever “Kenya Bartender Week”
(Sept. 2-8, 2025) with Nairobi’s Hero Bar to
Spur Cocktail Tourism and Economic Development
First-Ever Expansion to Africa Spotlights Storytelling Across the Dynamic Country’s Bar Community and Encourages Cocktail Enthusiasts to
Visit Their Favorite Bars and Celebrate Local Spirits
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept. 2, 2025—Hanna Lee Communications (HLC), an award-winning multimedia PR/marketing agency specializing in hospitality and luxury travel, today announces Kenya Bartender Week (Sept. 2-8, 2025), the first-ever expansion of the agency’s Worldwide Bartender Week to the African continent. For its inaugural edition, 41 bars across Kenya are participating and will serve special cocktails made using at least one Kenyan ingredient.
The week-long festival, stewarded by Hero Bar, Nairobi’s first speakeasy, brings together the country’s vibrant bartending community through events and a cocktail promotion for consumers showcasing local spirits. Part consumer festival and part cocktail tourism initiative, Kenya Bartender Week celebrates the East African nation’s bar community and its unique ingredients to help spur economic development. It celebrates storytelling as the common thread that ties Kenya’s drinks community together, showcasing the compelling narratives of its people, products and places. This year, participating bars span cities and towns that include Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu and Diani Beach.
Hero Bar, Created by Hospitality Visionary Shamim Ehsani & Led by Global Bar Expert Richie Barrow
The week-long celebration is organized by Shamim Ehsani, Co-Founder of Tribe Hotel Group, and Richie Barrow, the group’s General Manager of Food & Beverage. Ehsani created Hero Bar, which ranks No.75 on The World’s 50 Best Bars’ extended list and is ensconced on the rooftop of the group’s Trademark Hotel. The group’s properties also include the five-star Tribe Hotel and Village Market, East Africa’s largest indoor mall with 50 restaurants, which are elevating Nairobi’s F&B offerings. Barrow is a consummate hospitality professional and a stalwart of the global cocktail scene who takes a leading role at the bar, including organizing pop-ups of top bars from around the world, including Handshake Speakeasy, Paradiso, Salmon Guru, VIRTÙ, The SG Club, Cafe La Trova, Danica, Jigger & Pony and many more.
