We're going to give wine a break this time, and make room for the revelry that is Midtown Cocktail Week.

The fourth annual event features bartenders from all over the downtown and midtown grid – along with guests from the Bay Area – showing off their latest cocktail creations and also teaching classes.

All of these cocktail shenanigans started with a kickoff party on Monday at Shady Lady, and they'll wrap up Sunday with a luau-themed tasting at Golden Bear.

But here's one event that's taking Midtown Cocktail Week to new heights of pageantry: "The Greatest Cocktail on Earth."

This event will be Friday at the Citizen Hotel's ballroom, 926 J St., Sacramento, and comes with performers from the Bay Area's Vespertine Circus.

Along with acrobatics, clowns and other spills and chills, you'll find a veritable fun house of drinks. They were created by Grange bartender Ryan Seng and Jayson Wilde of San Francisco's Bourbon & Branch. Step up and give them a spin: the "lion tamer," "ice monkey" – which will be poured over a snow cone – the "strong man," and others.

Or you can step right up and sample "the bearded lady." It's a cocktail that includes single-malt Scotch, an infusion of banana chips, soda, egg white and a syrup made of Guinness and cacao nibs.

"It sounds kind of gross, but it's really a good cocktail," said Seng.

The circus idea sprang from a painting by Seng that is going to hang at Brewster's in Galt. (In addition to whipping up some of the best cocktails in town, Seng is an accomplished visual artist).

"I started researching the 1890s (when the Brewster's building was constructed) and found those were the early stages of Barnum & Bailey's," said Seng. "We were kicking around drink ideas, and they got really circus-y."

Please note that these Citizen Hotel circus high jinks are not for children of all ages. This event is 21-and-up only.

"A lot of people really step up their game and get excited for this," said Seng about Midtown Cocktail Week. "Guests are coming in with an open mind, and Sacramento just likes making drinks."

For a full lineup of events: midtowncocktailweek.org.

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