Uganda: Women Reshaping Kampala’s Cocktail Culture

Kampala, Uganda — On any given Friday night in Kampala, the lights dim, the music rises and the bar counter becomes a stage. Behind it, bartenders measure, shake and garnish as cocktails slide across polished counters to eager patrons.

A decade ago, in popular nightlife venues such as Riderz, Piato, Nimaro and Iguana, the bartender greeting customers was almost always a man. Today, that picture is steadily evolving as more women move behind the counter and into leadership roles within the city’s fast-growing cocktail culture.

Among those redefining the craft are Paulyne Akanjuna at BushPig, Molly Ayat at Aurous, and Jane Apio, a trainer with Uganda Breweries Limited. Their journeys reflect both the glamour and the discipline that define life behind the bar in a city whose nightlife industry continues to professionalise.

Like many in the trade, their entry into bartending began on the floor as waitresses before transitioning behind the counter.

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For Akanjuna, who has worked at BushPig since 2019, bartending offered something more dynamic than traditional service roles.

“I wanted something greater, something more captivating,” she says.

Ayat’s path into the craft was more calculated. She first worked as a waitress, then moved into a cashier role while quietly learning from bartenders. In exchange for lessons, she would wash their glasses and observe how cocktails were mixed and served. When management eventually opened an opportunity for the staff to switch stations, she took it.

Apio’s introduction to bartending was even more unexpected. Nearly nine years ago, while still working as a waitress, she entered the Diageo Master Bartender Competition despite not technically qualifying. She went on to win the contest, becoming the first and only woman to claim the title. Today she trains and mentors bartenders across Uganda.

Their professional journeys echo that of Ada Coleman, the pioneering bartender who became head bartender at the American Bar in The Savoy Hotel in 1903 and created the iconic Hanky Panky. More than a century later, women in Kampala are extending that legacy.

Behind the bar, each bartender has developed a distinctive style. Akanjuna and Ayat enjoy working with gin, highlighting its versatility in cocktails, particularly with premium expressions such as Tanqueray No. Ten. Apio, on the other hand, gravitates toward tequila and enjoys experimenting with bold flavour combinations.

“I fell in love with cocktails because of the shape of a margarita glass,” she says.

Yet bartending is not without its challenges. Long shifts on their feet are common, and social misconceptions about the profession persist.

“People think we are drunk because we work in a bar,” Ayat says. “Yet some bartenders don’t even drink.”

Female bartenders also occasionally encounter scepticism from customers who still associate the craft with men. Apio recalls a moment that illustrated this lingering bias.

“I told him I was the bartender and he asked me to call the real bartender,” she says.

Despite such encounters, the women continue to sharpen their skills and build professional credibility in an industry that increasingly values expertise, storytelling and brand knowledge.

According to Melanie Kaita, Reserve Ambassador at Uganda Breweries Limited, bartending today extends far beyond mixing drinks.

“Bartenders are storytellers, brand custodians and ambassadors of responsible consumption. Mentorship is critical because when we invest in the people behind the counter, we elevate the entire industry,” she says.

As Kampala’s nightlife continues to mature, bartenders such as Akanjuna, Ayat and Apio are becoming central to the city’s hospitality economy. Their growing presence behind the bar signals a shift in a once male-dominated profession.

They are not simply mixing cocktails. They are shaping the city’s evolving drinking culture one carefully measured pour at a time.