Edinburgh’s Panda & Sons welcomed some of the world’s leading bartenders to Scotland last week, to take part in the second annual Panda Highland Games.
This four-day celebration of ‘hospitality, culture, friendship and seriously good drinks’ is the brainchild of Panda & Sons owner and internationally acclaimed bartender Iain McPherson.
“Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world and experience unbelievable hospitality from bars and brands everywhere, people opening their cities, venues and cultures to you with real generosity,” explained McPherson.
“The Panda Highland Games is about bringing people together, creating friendships and giving local and international bartenders the chance to connect through something uniquely Scottish.
“We wanted people to experience more than just guest shifts and cocktails,” he said. “We wanted them to properly experience Scotland; the food, the humour, the chaos, the traditions, the whisky, the people and probably a few sore muscles from caber tossing the next day.
“At its heart, this industry is built on people looking after each other, sharing ideas and creating memorable experiences together.
“Seeing bartenders from all over the world in the Scottish sunshine at Winton Castle, dancing terribly and competing in tug of war with my family… that’s exactly what this was all about.”
The celebrations began on Monday 25th May with an international nine-bar takeover at Panda & Sons, welcoming guest bartenders from Mexico, Nairobi, Prague, Greece, Spain, England, the Isle of Man and beyond.
The bar was packed throughout the evening as teams stepped behind the bar to serve 22 bespoke cocktails to guests from across the UK drinks industry.
Participating bars and bartenders included Eli Martinez Bello of Gaston Wine Bar / Paolo Piccolo in Mexico; Richie Barrow of Hero Bar, Nairobi; Eve Green and Matt Arnold of Passing Fancies, England; Pavel Sochor of Alma, in Prague; Mari Chierchia and Kim Toft of Glasgow’s Daddy Marmalades; Tom Godfrey and Theo Quinn of FOCO, Spain; Nathan Price of Bar Glue, England; Drew Fleming and Euan Dean of Kiki Lounge, Isle of Man; and Enea Tzini of the 1947 Greek Mixology Bar, Greece.
Somehow, the following day, around 60 invited guests travelled to Winton Castle in East Lothian for the Panda Highland Games — a full day of caber tossing, tug of war, Highland dancing, welly-wanging, whisky, Scottish food and plenty of competitive spirit.
Guests were treated to a traditional hog roast BBQ and a programme of immersive Scottish experiences, including the unveiling of the second collaborative whisky release between Iain McPherson and Blind Summit Whisky.
The limited-edition bottling, created specially for the event, will once again raise funds for Wildcat Haven Scotland, helping support conservation efforts for the endangered Scottish wildcat – a species considered rarer than the giant panda.
