From Barcelona to Vienna

This season, Calypso moved between three very different stages: an intimate international guest shift, one of Vienna's biggest cocktail festivals and a forward-looking fair dedicated to drinking with little or no alcohol. The common thread is the way we like to work: strong ideas, thoughtful technique and hospitality that never feels overcomplicated.

SIPS brought Barcelona's drinkery spirit to Calypso

For one night, Christian and Ben from the SIPS team stepped behind the Calypso bar, bringing a direct taste of Barcelona to Vienna. SIPS was named The World's Best Bar in 2023 and has remained one of the most influential references for contemporary cocktail service: technically ambitious, visually distinctive and still relaxed enough to feel social.

What made the collaboration feel right was the shared belief that technique should support the guest experience. At SIPS, intricate ideas are translated into drinks that remain clear and enjoyable. At Calypso, our Mediterranean ingredients and modern production methods follow the same principle: the craft is present, but the drink comes first.

BEVERAGE PERSPECTIVE

• Guest shifts are a working exchange, not only a takeover: recipes, mise en place and service rhythm travel with the people behind them.

• SIPS shows how advanced technique and custom presentation can remain approachable rather than theatrical for its own sake.

• The collaboration connected Barcelona's internationally recognised bar culture with Calypso's young Vienna identity.

For Calypso, the evening also marked an important step in building a guest-shift programme with substance: bringing leading international teams into the room while keeping the atmosphere recognisably ours.

METAXA Orange at Liquid Market

From 27 to 29 August, Liquid Market gathered more than 150 bars and brands at Wild im West for three days of signature drinks, tastings, workshops, music and new beverage ideas. At the METAXA Orange stand, we built the serve around a sunny, contemporary interpretation of a familiar Greek spirit.

The drink combined burnt-butter-washed METAXA 5 Stars Greek Orange with agave, fresh lime, a precise touch of saline and Thomas Henry grapefruit soda. The result was bright and refreshing, with enough savoury depth to keep the orange profile from becoming one-dimensional.

• FLAVOUR: Orange, lime, grapefruit

• TECHNIQUE: Burnt-butter fat wash

• SERVICE: Prepared for 1.500 serves

Behind the glass was a serious production exercise. Scaling a fresh highball to festival volume meant controlling the fat wash, batching the spirit with agave and saline, keeping lime fresh and designing a fast top-and-serve workflow. It is exactly where beverage development meets operations: flavour consistency and speed have to be solved together.

Next up: UNBESCHWIPST No/Low Fair

UNBESCHWIPST brings together proxy wines, sparkling and pét-nat teas, kombucha, alcohol-free elixirs, aperitifs, beer and mixers. Tastings sit alongside talks and deep-dives on production, gastronomy, retail and the future of the category.

Boca will provide the food programme, while Marton Schroth and the Calypso team will operate the cocktail bar in the Markterei courtyard. Our focus will be adult, culinary drinks with structure and finish - proof that a lower ABV does not have to mean a smaller experience.

WHY THIS MATTERS

No and Low is becoming a distinct beverage category rather than a substitute shelf. The strongest products now use acidity, fermentation, tea, tannin, texture and aroma to create the length normally associated with wine or spirits. For bartenders, this opens a different creative toolbox and makes inclusive drinking part of the main menu rather than an afterthought.

Sunday 4 October 2026

12:00 to 19:00 | Last entry 18:00

Markterei Wien
Severingasse 7, 1090 Vienna

• 30+ producers from across Europe

• 125+ No and Low drinks to taste

• 95% expected to be 0.0% or below 0.5% ABV

Tickets €30 regular | €20 reduced