By Dave Hunter
Quality of drinks and speed of service will be the guiding lights at Edinburgh bars Bramble, Lucky Liquor Co and The Last Word Saloon this autumn.
The bars, owned by veterans Mike Aikman and Jas Scott, have been staples of the Edinburgh scene for years, with Bramble having first opened its doors all the way back in 2006.
At that time, a basement bar focusing exclusively on cocktails was an unusual sight on Scottish streets.
The unit, on Queen Street, had previously been a more traditional pub. One of the first things Mike and Jas did was tear out the beer dispense equipment – much to the chagrin of their contemporaries.
Mike told SLTN: “You can imagine, 20 years ago. People were coming in and going ‘what are you doing? You can’t not have draught beer in a pub!’”
It was a bold move at the time, but it more than paid off, with Edinburgh cocktail drinkers – and bartenders in particular – falling in love with the small but perfectly-formed venue and its selection of expertly-made drinks. That on-trade support was crucial in the early days, reckoned Jas.
“Because we were bartenders ourselves and we didn’t really know any better, I think the focus was on the on-trade, and the community and camaraderie within the on-trade,” he said.
“If bartenders are talking about your bar you’re doing something right.”
“And word of mouth to us was everything. If bartenders are talking about your bar or your drinks then you must be doing something right. They’re a selfish bunch, but if they’re willing to talk up your places to either their peers or their customers then you’re winning.”
The original Bramble cocktail list had around 20 drinks on it, with the owners pitching the cocktail list at the ‘unusual but approachable’ end of the spectrum.
“There was a nice mix of some fairly unusual ingredients,” recalled Mike.
“We were using things like applejack, that nobody was using for anything at that point. So we used fairly unusual spirits or unusual brands that you weren’t seeing on lots of other bars. But then we also had really user-friendly (drinks), like a lavender martini and things like that. Approachable, that people recognised. But it was never stuff that we saw on other menus.”
DIY was a big theme in the early days of Bramble, and it’s an approach that continues to this day.
Unable to source certain products they were looking for – or unhappy with the quality of the products they could find – the pair began making their own.
Starting with syrups including grenadine and orgeat, the DIY philosophy eventually extended to liqueurs and spirits, which are now available to other bars through the duo’s Mothership wholesale and production business. The company also produces brands including Seawolf rum, Cross Brew coffee liqueur and various whisky bottlings under the Bramble Whisky Company label.
The liqueurs range, dubbed Lucky Liqueurs, was recently given a facelift to give the products greater standout on shelves.
“We built the place ourselves. We were taking [steel beams] and fish tanks out, building stuff and doing what we could to save our money”
Jas explained: “We often refer to this DIY work ethic. We built the place ourselves. We were taking [steel beams] and fish tanks out, building stuff and doing what we could to save our money.
“And that definitely then went into the drinks menu itself. You could buy a bottle of sugar syrup, but it would cost you three quid. We could make a bottle of syrup for 20p, so we were doing that.
“And, weirdly, very few bars around town were doing it, which is mind-blowing. And it gives you the scope then to change ratios for your products – whether it be a 2:1 sugar syrup or a vanilla sugar syrup, to start developing liqueurs or anything.
“And that evolution of the company has just become a thing.”
Along with great drinks, the service and atmosphere were the other two major factors that brought Bramble to life. Dark, loud, with quality hip-hop on the sound system, Jas described the venue as ‘essentially a party-slash-dive-bar that does kick-arse cocktails’.
Not only does it do kick-arse cocktails, it does them quickly. “Speed of service is something we were conscious of and something that over the years a lot of other bars weren’t,” said Mike.
“They were very much about ‘look at me, this is me making your drink’ and we very much were like, if you go into a bar you want a drink. You want to be able to order it and get it fairly quickly.
“There’s nothing worse than standing and waiting.
“We’ve always been super conscious of that: getting drinks in people’s hands. It’s not about the bartender and what they’re doing. And theatrics and all that bullshit.”
“We’ve always been super conscious of that: getting drinks in people’s hands. It’s not about the bartender and what they’re doing. And theatrics and all that bullshit.”
The focus on drinks and service has carried over to the other two bars – Lucky Liquor Co, just a few doors along Queen Street, and The Last Word Saloon in Stockbridge – although the vibe of those bars is different to their older sister.
Lucky Liquor is a brighter space, which the owners said was ‘slightly more European’ in its design, while The Last Word is more of a suburban neighbourhood bar. This time, the draught beer system even stayed in place.
And while – like the trade as a whole – the pair are finding the market challenging in 2024, the answer will be to continue to do what they do best.
“We’re focusing on the same thing as always with the bars,” said Mike. “Quality, making sure we’ve got the right staff, making sure they’re trained properly, making sure the offering’s right, that we’re able to put out good quality drinks at good prices in a good environment.”
