Edinburgh's Cocktail Week 2022 officially launched to the public on Friday, October 7, with several exciting new additions to the ten-day event making it one of the most renowned cocktail experiences in the UK.
The festival, which started in 2015, has continued to attract tens of thousands of food and drink lovers to its centrepiece on Lothian Road and over 100 bars across the city, with each participating venue offering a signature £5 cocktail to those who purchase a wristband.
As well as that, the huge tent erected at Festival Square is showcasing some of the UK's biggest spirit brands along with some of Edinburgh's favourite bars in a pop-up format with street food and live music also on offer.
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Fortunately for us, we were able to visit the set-up ahead of the official launch to the public on Friday while final preparations were taking place to make the mini cocktail village as glam and striking as possible.
21 different pop-ups are featured within Festival Square, with brands such as Absolut, Tia Maria and Kopparberg joining local bars such as Paradise Palms and Tigerlilly. The main attraction enticing people into the event is a huge silver sparkling wall that will likely be the backdrop for thousands of Instagram posts during the week.
Elsewhere, each bar was impressively decorated with props and bright-coloured decorations to bring some excitement and life to the event, with Managing Director Garry Anderson saying that with the world being a little doom and gloom at the moment, Edinburgh Cocktail Week is based on everyone having fun.
In the centre of the tent is a huge stage, where live music will be produced every night. Some of the standout performers within the next ten days include TikTok sea-shanty sensation Nathan Evans and local singer Callum Beattie.
On Thursday night, a pre-launch party saw the whole space packed with cocktail lovers as we were given a taste of what is to come in the next ten days. Live music kicked off the event as hundreds of people flocked to their favourite themed pop-ups to try some of the finest mixes on offer.
There was definitely no scrimping either. Despite the drinks inside Festival Square being several pounds cheaper than you'd find them in a local bar, they were still made to impress with garnish and the taste of the alcohol prevailing over the usual ice-filled glasses.
Not one of the 21 pop-ups was ever quiet either, staff worked tirelessly until 11pm until everyone cleared out, but it was just a small taster of what is to come before the festival concludes on October 16.
One of the brand new features at Festival Square this year is the 'Dramming in the Dark' experience which takes place in a dark, mirrored room where guests can pay just £10 for nine drinks in total. They are given three drams of whisky, three cocktails and three edible popping capsules.
The festival has also introduced an exciting new east-side hub - the 'Mirror Mirror Bar' which is a pop-up on the rooftop of The Glasshouse Hotel offering wristband holders cocktails that are served through a hole in the magic wall after you whisper your order to the hidden server behind the mirror.
For more information about the festival and to purchase your wristband, you can visit the Edinburgh Cocktail Week website.
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