Founded in 2009, Portland Cocktail Week is a week-long educational event that provides bartenders with the tools they need to take the next step in their careers through classes, networking and guided experiences. The first bartending conference to focus on the “business of the bar,” its majors include Anti-Waste, Applied Sciences, Bartending & Hospitality, Bar Ownership, Bar Management, and Consulting. Portland Cocktail Week is free of charge for bartenders. Applicants are selected based on the quality of their essays, geography, gender and racial equity. Portland Cocktail Week is presented by Lush Life Productions, the only singularly-focused bartender advocacy agency in the U.S.