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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Sean Murphy

The swish Edinburgh cocktail bars named among the UK's top 50 for 2022

When it comes to cocktails, Edinburgh is easily the best city in Scotland, with a vast array of incredible venues to find the perfect mixed drinks and plenty of experts to make them.

So, with the Top 50 Cocktail Bars in the UK for 2023 set to be announced in the New Year, we thought we'd take a look at the bars from the capital that made the list for 2022.

Each year, over 100 industry experts, from bartenders and owners, to drinks writers and influencers, scour the country to find and vote for their favourite venues.

And as you'd expect, Edinburgh features heavily in this year's list, with no less than four of the top 50 being found here.

READ MORE: Edinburgh's Harry Potter-style 'potions' bar offering magical Christmas Afternoon tea

So who made the list?

Bramble Bar & Lounge (6)

One of Bramble's many stunning cocktails (Instagram @bramble_bar)

Regularly cited as one of the best cocktail bars in the UK, if not the world, is, according to Top 50 Cocktail Bars judging panel, a "gem that surpasses its reputation".

Emulating the speakeasies of old, it's hidden beneath the frontage of a tailor's shop on Queen's Street.

Open until 1 am (Wednesday to Sunday), its expert team have curated an incredible menu ranging from the classic cocktail that gives the bar its name right up to more extravagant options such as the Mr Cavendish, which is made using Rye, Rum, banana, cacao, salt and bitter.

Panda & Sons (9)

Recently named one of the most influential cocktail bars in the world, this hidden speakeasy-style bar, which first opened on Queen Street in 2013, is waiting to be discovered beneath its unassuming street-level barber shop exterior.

Regularly receiving the plaudits, they have a top range of incredible cocktails on offer including the delicious Switched Negroni and inventive Paolo Appletini.

Lucky Liquor Co. (22)

Lucky Liquor offer incredible cocktails in the city's New Town (Lucky Liquor/ Facebook)

Another of the incredible Queen Street options, Lucky Liquor may be set up like an American diner – with its black and white checkered flooring and leather seating – but it's actually one of the city's best for a little bit of mixology magic.

Expect an ever-evolving series of innovative and experimental cocktail menus, (currently in its 37th iteration) with a range of colourful and vibrant drinks to suit any palate.

Hey Palu (44)

Hey Palu joined some of the more established cocktail bars on the prestigious list (Hey Palu/Instagram)

This modern Italian bar on Bread Street is one of the newer kids on the block having only opened in 2019, but it's taken no time to establish itself as one of the best places in the city to grab a cocktail.

The Tollcross establishment, which takes its name from an informal Italian greeting, offers everything from the classics to modern takes such as the Smoked Banana Old Fashioned and the Mango Swizzle.

Oh, and don't forget their Amaro Cocktail range which uses this popular Italian spirit as their core ingredient.

Speaking about the list when it was published earlier this year, Top 50 Cocktail Bars publisher, Chris Lowe said: “The Top 50 Cocktail Bars list shines a light on the very best in the UK.

"We are thrilled to have so many new entries to the list this year, during what has been a particularly hard time for the hospitality industry.”

The full ranking for 2023 will be announced on February 7.

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