A New Cocktail-Centric Festival Arrives In Mystic This Fall

In the last few years, Mystic, CT, has gone through a food and cocktail Renaissance of sorts. The seaside destination town, known for its Aquarium, historical significance and even kitsch, starting creating a buzz post-pandemic that its food scene was something to watch.

The town plays home to Shipwright’s Daughter and Mystic Fish Camp from James Beard Award-winning chef David Standridge (Best Chef, Northeast in 2024) as well as Oyster Club and Port of Call, whose kitchens are run by James Beard-nominated Outstanding Chef 2024 Reneé Touponce. Add the amount of breweries, distilleries, restaurants wineries in the immediate area and the town becomes a food and drink lover’s destination.

Taking it up a notch is newly-opened Veritable Distillery, an independent Connecticut-based distillery known for its farm-to-glass philosophy located in Stonington, CT. The business just announced it is heading up the Inaugural Mystic Cocktail Classic and Bartender Competition, set to take place from November 7 to 10, 2025 with event sponsors Faccia Brutto, Forthave Spirits, Fruitful Mixology, Hartford Flavor Company, The Real McCoy Rum, Rum Fire, Spiribam, and Trillium Brewing & Distilling

“We were sitting around our Friday afternoon tasting table at Veritable — a couple of bartenders, distillers, and an old-school craft brewer — when the topic of a cocktail-week-type event came up, and we all realized there hasn’t been an event like this thrown in our area in many years,” says Finneas Pryor, vice president and co-founder of Veritable Distillery.

He continues, “The talent in this region has certainly progressed tremendously—raising the bar, as it were—so we started brainstorming and landed somewhere around ‘Sundance Film Festival for Cocktail Culture,’ to celebrate the art of independent spirits and cocktail craft community in a long weekend.”

From there, the ball just got rolling and the whole community got involved, says Pryor. The core of the weekend will revolve around four cocktail dinners at classic Mystic restaurants, including Via Emilia, The Shipwright’s Daughter, The Port of Call, and The Jealous Monk. Each will start with a happy hour and a panel discussion to help educate attendees on different aspects of cocktailing and food pairings.

“I think the amazing talent in the food scene in Mystic is well recognized—and it’s also important to acknowledge that beverage programs go hand-in-hand with culinary expertise. So, beyond the traditional food and wine pairing, we’re looking to spotlight the cocktail-cuisine connection,” says Pryor.

The grand finale of the festivities will unfold on November 10 at The Jealous Monk, where bartenders will battle it out in a Mystic Cocktail Competition. There, the four finalists will craft their most innovative concoctions for a panel of discerning judges—and compete for some seriously impressive prizes, including a trip for two to Barbados + private educational tour of Foursquare Distillery. (Bartenders can enter here and use the code veritable25)

However, it’s not all about the cocktails—Pryor says there will be something for everyone.

“It’s really about the intertwinement of spirits, food, education, entertainment, and community—more than just cocktails alone; and there will be mocktails, too, for the sober-curious. The mixing of all these ingredients adds up to a really engaging and talented group of people with similar interests learning and discussing, and sharing great food and drink pairings, thoughts, stories, and good times,” he says. Additional activities include a book fair and signing at the The Mystic Noank Library, complete with a make-your-own mocktail station as well as coffee, tea and matcha from local crafters.

There will also be industry meet-and-greets and a late-night bar crawl to round out the weekend agenda.