I should perhaps start this off with a hearty piratical “Arrrrrr!” or some other rum-soaked cliché. But I won’t.
Anyway, if you like a drop of rum or a gin and tonic of an evening, then the aptly-named Vienna Rumfestival and Ginmarkt Wien might be your thing.
- 2-day rum and gin festivals held at Ottakringer Brewery
- Tastings, workshops, food & music
- 2021 dates: Sept 24-25
- See also: Events in Vienna | Cocktail festival
What are the festivals all about?
Drinking rum and gin. A celebration of rum and gin. The two festivals share a date and location, both taking place on the premises of Vienna’s main brewer (Ottakringer).
The Vienna Rumfestival will be in its fifth iteration in 2021, offering visitors the chance to discover different types of rum from dozens of brands. Get a flavour (see what I did there?) of the 2019 event from the video at the end of this article.
It’s the brainchild of rum aficionados, who will no doubt grimace at my earlier pirate comment. After all, rum has escaped its historical naval milieu to become a drink of the world, albeit resonant with Caribbean flair and history.
The Ginmarkt Wien festival is a year younger and goes better with tonic and a slice of lemon.
The Rumfestival
Obviously, there’s the chance to sample and/or buy the drink that led Lord Byron to write:
There’s nought, no doubt, so much the spirit calms
As rum and true religion: thus it was
Various specialist tastings and workshops cost extra but are likely in German anyway. The event has its own food and bar area, too.
A strong cocktail theme runs through the rum festival, of course. This traditionally includes a cocktail challenge, where expert barkeepers attempt to create a totally-new rum-based cocktail in just 30 minutes.
The Ginmarkt
As well as plenty of gin to sample from numerous brands, the event also usually has food, shopping opportunities, and music, the latter courtesy of various DJs.
The last couple of years have seen an explosion of interest in gin in Vienna, with specialty gin stores opening in town. We’ve come a long way from Hogarth’s 18th century political cartoons.
2021 dates and tickets
In 2021, the festivals take place on Friday, September 24th and Saturday, September 25th.
Buy tickets online from the websites (see below for links). There may also be a few tickets available on each day at the events themselves. A ticket gets you, for example, a free tasting glass in addition to entrance.
How to get to the festivals
The Ottakringer Brauerei (Ottakringer brewery) site is picking up a reputation as an excellent event location: it also hosts a long summer beer festival, for example.
Subway: Take the U3 to its final station (Ottakring) and walk down (or jump on the nearby 44 tram)
Tram: Take line 2, 9 or 44 to the Johann-Nepomuk-Berger-Platz stop, which is opposite the brewery. Or the 46 line to Feßtgasse.
Address: Ottakringer Platz 1, 1160 Vienna | Rum festival | Gin festival
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