At The Arches on Market Street As the Christmas lights come on and overpriced bratwurst stands populate Princes Street Gardens, thoughts turn to festive get-togethers, and Edinburgh Gin’s distillery and visitor centre on Market Street could be a great destination for work dos or a friends’ night out. Edinburgh Gin launched in 2010, one of the first to take advantage of a change in the law that allowed smaller stills and led to the birth of the craft gin industry. The brand

Dirty Brew is a fusion of smooth Belvedere Organic Vodka with rich coffee flavour At Belvedere Vodka , the Maison creates with a simple philosophy: innovate with purpose, craft with excellence. Recently, the folks at Belvedere invited Bite to an exclusive tasting, offering a first-hand experience of their latest creation. Belvedere Dirty Brew is the purest—yet darkest—expression of this ethos, reimagining the coffee experience with a luxurious spirit of intense flavour and d

The Roco Bros, renowned chefs and restaurateurs, once commented to Rupert, co-founder of Buck & Birch , that Scotland is the last undiscovered food larder in the world. Forager Rupert agrees, lamenting how we overlook the foodie treasures beneath our feet, under our noses, and in our hedgerows. I was invited on a press visit by Buck & Birch, an award-winning wild Scottish spirits, liqueurs, and cocktail company run by the pioneering duo Tom Chisholm and Rupert Waites. The pr

Caleño White Coconut Pineapple Juice Serve Non-alcoholic spirits brand Caleño is bringing a taste of Colombia to Waitrose with its new White Coconut rum liquid, launching this month in over 100 stores nationwide with an introductory offer of £15 (RRP £18). The launch comes as non-alcoholic rum is projected to be one of the fastest-growing market segments.  Additionally, rum-based cocktails have seen a 12% increase in popularity in bars and restaurants globally over the past y

Born from Scottish spirit-making traditions, mythology and the artistic landscape of Jupiter Artland, X MUSE, pronounced 'tenth muse', is a luxury blended vodka, combining two heritage barleys and the purest aquifer waters drawn from the Estate. Here, time moves differently; art and nature intertwine, and visitors are invited to slow down, harmonise and find energised balance. Wandering through the estate is all-engaging; art sporadically appears at spots specifically chosen

Worq Hospitality, the Scottish hospitality venture that operates numerous high-end brands including El Santo Latin American Bar & Restaurant in Glasgow’s Merchant City, has announced an exciting new collaboration with one of Scotland’s up-and-coming gin brands.   The brainchild of Glaswegian wedding filmmaker, Andy Samuel, Shipyard Gin – launched in October 2021 is now available across several of Worq Hospitality properties including El Santo, 55 Bearsden Cross, and Riva Bo

Sherry and Scotland have a deeply connected past with Edinburgh’s first records of drinking it dating back to 1548. The city even has its own Cadiz street, named after the Spanish port where Sherry barrels were dispatched out of before being shipped into Leith. It’s a fascinating past and for Scotland, these barrels offer greater meaning as when they arrived in town the wine would be poured into bottles and the casks snapped up by eager whisky merchants who discovered by refi

Gary Bradley As the mercury falls to sub-zero, the alcohol I am distilling reaches 78 degrees and the hydrometer measuring the strength of my gin shoots to 45%. Don’t panic though, all is above board as I am distilling my gin under the licensed supervision of Gary Bradley who runs Sip Antics micro-distillery and gin school in a cosy, downstairs room at the Cumberland Bar in Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town. Gary has been General Manager at the popular 56 North Bar in West Crossc

Rum Union - blended rum Grog is what was given to sailors. It is rum diluted with water, sometimes sweetened with sugar and laced with lime to prevent scurvy. James Lind conducted the first ‘clinical trial’ by giving sailors lime in their liquor. Naval heritage and rum are established bedfellows and South Queensferry is an apt place to set sail and learn all about the launch of a modern un-grogged rum, Rum Union . It is the place where David Balfour in Robert Louis Stevenso

BIRCH After a successful debut in 2021, flavour innovators Buck & Birch have relaunched the second batch of their spirit and namesake, BIRCH. The ethos of Buck & Birch's founders, Tom Chisholm and Rupert Waites, is to revisit Scotland's natural larder in order to create innovative, gastronomic offerings. BIRCH is an alternative to gin and vodka where pure spirit is married with raw birch sap and seasoned with wild birch flavours. The result is a smooth, yet complex, botani

Scotland's Baileys Scotland’s leading Scotch malt whisky cream liqueur, Magnum, recently won its first international gold medal as part of the global Liqueur Masters competition 2020. Crafted and bottled in Edinburgh, Magnum is Scotland’s answer to Baileys as it uses single malt Scotch whisky from Speyside. Magnum won Gold in the ‘Cream’ category in the competition hosted by The Spirits Business, The Liqueur Masters is an annual drive to find and reward the finest Craft Spi