New gin bar heads for capital hotel

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• The bar houses two custom-made stills.

THE team behind Edinburgh Gin has launched a bar, visitor centre and distillery beneath The Rutland Hotel in Edinburgh’s west end.

The gin-focused Heads & Tales bar will boast an extensive gin and cocktail list as well as a food menu that includes a range of dishes produced with local ingredients.
The bar also houses two custom-made stills which will be used as part of a gin-making experience for customers.
The distillery side of the business is said to have created eight new jobs and is run in partnership with Heriot-Watt University. As part of the partnership, Heriot-Watt professor Paul Hughes will lead the creation of a gin-facility providing research into botanicals and the history of distilling in Edinburgh.
Alex Nicol, MD of Spencerfield Spirit, the firm behind Edinburgh Gin, said that with the launch of the new visitor centre and distillery, coupled with the Heads & Tales bar, “Edinburgh’s great tradition for distilling looks set to be revived”.