Edinburgh bars: Popular cocktail bar Panda & Sons named among the world's best
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A popular Edinburgh speakeasy has been named the 30th best bar in the world - with its bartender also having been voted the best in the world.
Panda & Sons in Queen Street was named on the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier. The 30th place ranking saw Panda & Sons rise nine places since last year’s list was announced, and the bar was Scotland’s only entrant in the list.
Iain McPherson, who opened Panda & Sons with his family over a decade ago, was also announced as the recipient of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award earlier this month ahead of the live awards ceremony in Madrid, Spain.
Now in its 16th edition, the awards once again united the global bar community in recognition of the bartenders, bar owners and brands at the forefront of the international cocktail scene.
Congratulating list-topper Handshake Speakeasy, Emma Sleight, head of content for The World’s 50 Best Bars, said: “We also extend our heartfelt congratulations to each and every bar on this year’s list, which once again highlights the incredible diversity of the global bar sector. We hope that this year’s list continues to operate as a beacon for cocktail lovers the world over.”
Panda & Sons has been operating since 2013, and was recently named the 2nd best bar in the world by US-based magazine Food and Wine. The sleek bar offers up innovative cocktails in a stylish environment, located behind vintage barbershop frontage.
The World’s 50 Best Bars provides a definitive list of the world’s best drinking venues, voted for by an Academy of more than 700 experts worldwide. The World’s 50 Best Bars list has been published annually since 2009 and has become the most anticipated ranking for drinks professionals and cocktail aficionados across the world, with the awards the highlight of the bar industry calendar.