Edinburgh cocktail festival showcasing award-winning bars and leading bartenders to return in April

Running from April 14 -27, the Diageo World Class GB Cocktail Festival will showcase eight of Edinburgh’s top bars including award-winning venues, Hey Palu, Panda and Sons and The Court at The Caledonian.

Only bars with one or more bartenders featured in Diageo’s Top 100 cocktail competition can take part in the festival, and this year 12 locals will test their mixology skills to craft limited edition cocktails using signature Diageo brands – including Don Julio Reposado tequila, Singleton 12 whisky and Seedlip.

The Diageo World Class GB Cocktail Festival will ‘highlight Edinburgh’s cocktail scene and the bartenders shaping it’ | Diageo World Class GB Cocktail Festival

Jo Last, Diageo GB’s advocacy manager said: “The talent on show across the country this year has been fantastic to see. It's time to get out and show your local bars how much you love them! We have passionate bartenders showcasing their unique talents in some of the best bars in Edinburgh. Let's show them all some support.”

Diageo, which is a major distributor of whisky and spirits including Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, JεB and Buchanan’s whiskies and Baileys, has helped train over 400,000 bartenders across the world in the last 13 years said the festival ‘not only highlights the skill and creativity of the bartenders but also champions the bars they represent - encouraging cocktail enthusiasts in Edinburgh to explore and support their local venues’.

The two-week festival will feature eight bars including: Gleneagles Town House, Chancho Agaveria, The Raeburn Edinburgh, Old Pal, Bittersweet, Panda and Sons, Hey Palu and The Court at The Caledonian Edinburgh.

The 12 bartenders taking part in the festival are: Jack Smith (Gleneagles Townhouse); Ewan Robertson and Caolan Maxwell (Chancho Agaveria), Mateusz Urbanski (The Raeburn Edinburgh), Jake Harris (Old Pal), Fowwaz Ansari and Fabrizio Cioffi (Bittersweet), Cameron Mowat and Carrie Smith (Panda and Sons), Andy Galloway and Sean Cavanagh (Hey Palu) and Akileswar Boya (The Court at The Caledonian Edinburgh).

For more information you can visit The Bar website.