Iain McPherson of Panda & Sons has teamed up with Edinburgh Cocktail Week founders Jamie Faulds and Gary Anderson to launch a new three-day international bar show in the Scottish capital.
Taking place from April 8th-10th this year, Edinburgh Bar Show will host a series of bar takeovers, seminars, collaborations, demonstrations and tastings, featuring worldwide bars, bartenders and global brand advocacy teams.
Its organisers said the Edinburgh Bar Show will have a “distinctly Scottish slant” and will champion “the world-class spirits, drinks brands, bars and talent which Scotland has in abundance”.
All EBS seminars will be free to attend for bar, hospitality and drinks trade delegates.
On co-launching EBS, McPherson said: “This is a chance to bring a new generation of bartenders together to experience quality from all over the world. It’s an opportunity to share knowledge and network."
Anderson added: “Scotland has so much to offer; the spirits created here are unique and should be celebrated and our bar scene has a different story and provenance to other places. We want to infuse all of that into Edinburgh Bar Show at the same time as bringing together and showcasing international talent."
A central hub will operate from Edinburgh haunt The Voodoo Rooms, with a daily seminar programme as well as a dedicated tasting and experience room. Throughout the city, guests can expect distillery tours, offshoot events and activities by day, and by night, bar takeovers and parties across the capital’s most celebrated venues.
Headline events already confirmed include a high profile launch with Aberfeldy, Craigellachie and Royal Brackla, a Kwānt and House of Suntory bar takeover and seminar with Erik Lorincz and an Absolut bar takeover and seminar with Roda Huset (no.31 on The World’s 50 Best Bars and winner of 2023 Sustainable Bar Award).
Also planned is a Remy Cointreau day-two wrap party featuring Bruichladdich and The Botanist, Campari Academy showcasing highlights from their seminar programme and launching Art of Hospitality 2024 with Satan’s Whiskers, and a closing party with Hendrick’s Gin.
Wellness and inclusion are also key tenets of the show. Faulds added: “EBS will offer a daily roster of activities in conjunction with brand partners that will look to include wellness, meditation, yoga, fitness and many other aspects that are increasingly relevant and important to bar professionals in 2024.”
In its inaugural year, EBS is supported by The Botanist, Bruichladdich, Ardbeg, Hendrick’s Gin, Aberfeldy, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla, Absolut, Spearhead Whisky, Campari Academy, House of Suntory, Edinburgh Gin, Smokehead, Axia, Patron and Eminente Rum amongst others.
For more information visit www.edinburghbarshow.co.uk