Michelin-starred Edinburgh restaurant Timberyard and its newly opened sister restaurant, Montrose, have been recognised by The Good Food Guide Awards for offering the ‘Drinks List of the Year’.
Both venues have a sourcing process focussed on organic ingredients, local breweries, small-batch sprits and ‘minimal-intervention’ wine.
Commenting on the award, the paired venues’ wine buyer, Jo Radford, said: “12 years in, we are delighted to be receiving recognition for our ongoing efforts. A huge thanks to both teams and our suppliers who make this all possible.”
Timberyard’s vast cellar has been slowly built up over those 12 years, with Radford preferring bottles produced ‘with care for the land and grape’, whilst showcasing the very best of forgotten regions and grape varieties throughout Europe.
The same ethos applies at Montrose, with Radford helping to oversee Murray McDougal with all wine purchasing.
A good part of the Montrose cellar list is fed by bottles, big and small, that have been ageing in the Timberyard cellar, giving the venue access to rare and old bottles, and adding depth and substance to a new list.
The two family-run Edinburgh venues have what they describe as a unique approach to the way in which the rest of their drinks offering is put together.
Anna Sebelova oversees the non-alcoholic programme for both venues and also crafts beautiful liqueurs and digestifs to be enjoyed alongside the elegant cooking on offer.
A full softs pairing is also available at both Timberyard and Montrose, focussing on preservation, fermentation and blending to bring together ‘otherworldly soft drinks with texture, balance and intrigue’.
Timberyard in particular focuses on hyper-seasonal produce, making the most of Anna’s preservation and foraging skills. Some highlights include Scottish apple and Douglas Fir; Yorkshire rhubarb and dried flowering currant kombucha; and fig leaf gimlet.
At Montrose, the sourcing is slightly broader, lending a more Mediterranean feel to the drinks on offer, like its Clementine & Jasmine kombucha; Bergamot-Whisky amaro, and Burnt Honey & Woodruff Rusty Nail.
