Huge tequila and mezcal festival coming to Manchester later this year

A massive mezcal and tequila festival is coming to Manchester this summer. The city will play host to its first-ever celebration of iconic Mexican spirits.

Following their successful stint in Glasgow, the Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival will be taking place on Saturday 14 September at the Manchester Cathedral. The historic venue will be transformed into a massive agave spirits tasting floor, featuring over 100 varieties of premium tequilas and smoky mezcals from some of Mexico’s most renowned producers.

These will include El Jimador, Del Maguey, Olmeca Altos, Vivir, Ojo De Dios, Bandero and El Tequileno with many more revealed in the run up to the event.

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With guided tastings and masterclasses led by industry experts, festival-goers will gain exclusive insights into the craftsmanship behind these distinctive spirits, along with the opportunity to sample responsibly from dozens of stands from their very own limited edition clay tasting copita (included in the ticket price). There’s no token system in place and no extra charge to sample any of the spirits on offer.

A team of expert bartenders will be stirring up a selection of agave-based and inspired cocktails at the bespoke cocktail bar, plus there’s street food retailers on hand, including Mexican inspired cuisine from Taco Or Don’t, previously featured at the British Streetfood Awards. On top of this a variety of other pop-up stalls will be featured at the event, including a country and western shop from Glasgow based fashionistas 'The Cowpeople'.

Attendees can also savour the taste of Mexico for the rest of the year by stocking up at the exclusive festival- based bottle shop, with discount vouchers available.

Colin Campbell, one of Copita’s co-founders said: “We’re really excited to be bringing Copita to Manchester. It’s gone down brilliantly in Glasgow the last two years so we felt now was the right time to take it on the road and we couldn’t think of a better place than Manchester to head to next!

"It’s a really easy-going event with a great atmosphere, lots of local street food, shopping and music, so whether you’re an aficionado or a casual sipper we’re confident you’ll have a great time.”

Tickets cost £35 per session and can be purchased here. Early bird tickets (15% off) priced at £29.75 are available until Sunday 7 July – use code EARLYBIRD15 to redeem.

Sessions last three and a half hours and will take place from 12.30pm – 4pm & 5.15pm – 8.45pm.