Oostende’s Street Art Inspires a Limited-Edition Cocktail
On Belgium’s North Sea coast, creativity is taking on a new form; liquid. A fresh collaboration between The Crystal Ship, Oostende’s street art festival, and Cockburn’s Port, a longstanding Portuguese port brand, is bringing unexpected flavor to the city’s cultural landscape.
Blending mural art with mixology, the project introduces a cocktail that reflects the spirit of Oostende: layered, bold, and full of character.
When Walls and Wines Meet
The initiative centers around Oostendse bartender Stijn Deschacht, who recently won the international Blend Series Competition, a contest challenging bartenders to rethink port-based drinks. Inspired by his hometown and its evolving public art, Deschacht created a new cocktail that pays tribute to both the city and the stories behind its walls.
“I took a walk through Oostende, past murals by artists like Sygfried Vynck, SozyOne, and Caco,” he says. “That walk became the starting point. I thought about how Porto and Oostende are both port cities, how Cockburn’s has Scottish roots, and how those threads connect with my own story. I tried to pour all of that into one drink.”
The Port of Ostend
The result is the Port of Ostend cocktail—a drink that nods to the past while embracing something new:
- 45 ml Cockburn’s Special Reserve Ruby
- 15 ml Scotch whisky
- 5 ml Elixir d’Anvers
- 5 ml agave syrup
Shake with ice, strain into a chilled glass, and serve neat or over ice.
The cocktail is available throughout the spring in several local bars, including Paroles Paroles and Bar Sous Sol. Visitors can pair the drink with a self-guided art tour using the Ostend City Walks app, which highlights the festival’s newest murals.
Culture That You Can Taste
This crossover between contemporary street art and cocktail culture offers a fresh lens on Oostende’s identity. Both the festival and the drink invite visitors to slow down, look closer, and experience the city in a different way—whether through a painted wall or a carefully balanced glass.
A fun aside: local demand for the cocktail led to temporary sellouts of Cockburn’s Special Reserve in Colruyt stores.
