New venue from the team behind Bittersweet and Old Poison

The team behind Leith cocktail bar Bittersweet is gearing up to launch a new bar and distillery in the famous port area.

Old Poison will be both a cocktail bar and the new home of Old Poison Distillery, which is relocating from its current base at The Biscuit Factory. 

The new facility – on Portland Place – will allow Old Poison – which produces a range of spirits, liqueurs and aperitivos, to quadruple its capacity from around 500 litres to 2000 litres. 

Meanwhile, the 30-capacity bar will focus on ‘accessible experimentation’, serving ‘forward-thinking cocktails rooted in familiar, classic bases so guests can easily connect with the flavours,’ according to co-founder Fabrizio Cioffi. 

The menu will be split into different sections, with the Signature section focusing on ‘sophisticated, simple, approachable twists on classic cocktails’ and the Statements section offering ‘bold, unconventional and boundary-pushing experimental creations’. 

Having the distillery and bar under one roof will also allow the four-strong team to offer tastings and masterclasses ‘designed to teach the guests the art of the aperitivo’. 

Fabrizio said the new venue will be different to the established Bittersweet, offering customers ‘a blending of a modern laboratory and a pharmacy, where the sacred meets the profane’. 

Fabrizio founded the original Old Poison Distillery in 2017, going on to launch Bittersweet in 2022 with younger brother Simone. 

Fabrizio has headed up the drinks side of the bar in addition to overseeing Old Poison, with Simone the head chef at the venue. 

Though the bar does stock branded products, the vast majority of the bottles behind the bar are created at Old Poison. 

Bittersweet is shortlisted in three categories in this year’s SLTN Awards: Cocktail Bar of the Year, Spirits Bar of the Year and Bartender of the Year, for head bartender Sam Chatterji.