Boutique Bar event will take place in Edinburgh next month
MORE than four hundred bartenders and trade representatives are expected to descend on Edinburgh’s Mansfield Traquair next month when the Boutique Bar Show returns to Scotland’s capital.
The event, taking place on Wednesday November 6, showcases premium and small-batch spirits, and will feature around 24 exhibitors as well as a number of workshops, seminars and competitions.
Events will include a presentation from drinks writer and bar owner Andy Campana on the ‘DNA of the Cocktail’, a seminar on Cuban cocktails from ‘cocktail historians’ Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller and a presentation from specialist foraging business Forager on the range of fruits, flowers and foliage that is available for bartenders to use.
Glasgow bartender Mal Spence will give a talk on fortified wines, while Aberdeen mixologist and bar owner Adrian Gomes will highlight the potential for using Scottish craft beers as cocktail ingredients.
On the competition side, the event will host the Scottish heat of the ‘Putting Pen to Shaker’ contest, organised by drinks company 10°C, as well as the next round of the annual ‘Great Scottish Shake Off’ competition, which pits teams of bartenders from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Newcastle against each other.
Show founder Andrew Scutts said the event, which is now in its fourth year in Scotland, is a unique resource for the Scottish trade.
“As far as I’m aware it’s the only drinks show of its kind in Scotland, focusing on premium spirits – which is a real area of growth and is on-trend for consumers,” he said.
And he added that the show is not just targeted at top end style and cocktail bars.
“It’s relevant to all businesses now, not just the style bars, but all pub groups and bars should be looking to really focus on the quality of the products that they serve – the provenance, the history,” he said.
The Boutique Bar Show takes place each year in London, Manchester and Scotland.
The event returns to Edinburgh this year after taking place in Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket in 2012.
