CRAFT and small-batch spirits from 30 different firms will take centre stage when the Boutique Bar Show returns to Edinburgh this month.
The event, which was last in Edinburgh in 2014 before relocating to Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket last year, will feature a range of craft spirits as well as talks on both bartending and the business side of the trade.
Event organiser Andrew Scutts said he hopes this year’s show, which takes place in the Mansfield Traquair on October 26, will attract around 500 visitors.
“With the quality of the spaces we take, and the quality of our speakers, if you are interested in selecting and finding new products for your customers, you want to see what the new trends are, or you want to be up to date with what’s happening in the bar scene, then probably the Boutique Bar Show is the most relevant show for you in Scotland,” said Scutts.
This year’s event will feature talks from two bartenders: Marian Beke, formerly of London bar Nightjar and now one of the founders of London cocktail venue The Gibson, and Leonardo Leuci of the Jerry Thomas Project bar in Rome.
Beke will speak about using pickled ingredients in cocktails, while Leuci will host a presentation on the worldwide influence of Vermouth.
Business content will include a presentation from Stephen Waters of management training firm Watershed on how to recruit and retain bar staff.
A partnership with the Scottish Licensed Trade Association will also see the SLTA Business Lounge offering free advice on subjects such as licensing law and staff training.
Scutts said although the core audience of the show is comprised of owners and staff from cocktail-led premises, the aim is to appeal to as broad a section of the trade as possible.
“We do very well with the high-end cocktail bars and hotel bars and top-end restaurant bars but I feel like a much bigger percentage of the industry now needs to be thinking a lot more seriously about what they’re offering their customers,” he said.
