Chill at Leith cocktail festival

Until 2 September, Leith will be a cocktail community, with 19 of the area’s top bars offering an array of cocktails that capture the true flavour of the maritime heart of Edinburgh.

All the bars have worked together to create an exciting programme for festival-goers to look forward to with colourful cocktail concoctions guaranteed to tickle your fancy, whatever your tastes may be.

At Boda, that cocktail is the Leith Aviation Club and you can make your own at home, here’s how: Shake 25ml Leith Gin, 12.5ml lychee liqueur, 12.5ml Creme de Violette, 20ml lemon juice and 10ml cherry syrup with muddled cherries and ginger.

Shake in a cocktail shaker and serve over crushed ice in a rocks glass, topped with club soda.

Of course, it’s easier to leave the work to the experts and it couldn’t be simpler to get involved either. All you have to do is purchase your Chill Fest wristband for £5 from www.leithchillfest.com and keep it for the duration of the festival.

Every time you head to one of the participating bars, simply show your wristband to the bartender to be entitled to that bar’s exclusive signature cocktail for just £5.

The wristband can be used as little or as often as you like, so you can sample all 16 signature cocktails throughout August and go back for your favourite whenever you fancy.

Sponsored by Leith Gin and organised by the teams behind Malmaison on The Shore and the Boda Bar Group, £3 from each wristband will be donated to two local charities - Projekt 42, a not-for-profit gym and wellness centre in the New Kirkgate Shopping Centre, and the Citadel Youth Centre on Commercial Street, which provides the area’s young people with learning, leisure, friendship and support services.

The bars taking part in the event include Boda, Finn & Bear, Fox by the Shore, Hemingway’s Leith, Malmaison, Miss Woo’s, Noble’s, Papillon, Roseleaf, Sofi’s, Tapa, The Barologist, The Granary, The Lioness of Leith, The Lord Nelson, Toast, Victoria, Woodland Creatures and Joseph Pearce.