A top Edinburgh bar known for its excellent cocktails has just been picked out by an influential industry awards as the 'Best in Scotland'.
CLASS magazine has announced its highly anticipated CLASS Bar Awards 2023, with bars from the capital mixing it up with those in Manchester, Birmingham, and London on the final award list.
Authentic Italian cocktail experts Hey Palu took the gong in the Best Bar in Scotland & NI category, with the CLASS Mag team stating that Alex Palumbo’s stylish cocktail haunt presents a "modern take on Italian Aperitivo culture, with classic cocktails, warm hospitality and amaro and vermouth aplenty".
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While fellow finalist in that category, Panda & Sons, also didn’t leave empty-handed as owner Iain McPherson took home the Bar Innovator of the Year award, chiefly for his work on his bar’s Transcend menu, which delves into sub-zero flavour creation.
The bars were at a glittering award ceremony at Battersea Arts Centre in London on Tuesday night (May 23) to see the winners crowned.
Judged by the CLASS Collective (a group of 100 bar experts from across the country), the CLASS Bar Awards recognises the talent, achievements and diversity of the UK bar scene.
Having launched in 2003, the Class Bar Awards is 20 years old and the UK's longest-running bar awards.
Hamish Smith, editor of Class and co-host of the Class Bar Awards, said: “The 78 finalists this year were the strongest and most geographically diverse since we relaunched the Awards in 2017.
"London remains strong but the Bar of the Year is in Manchester again, the New Bar of the Year is in Birmingham, the Bar Innovator of the Year is in Edinburgh and the bar leading sustainable practices is in Cornwall - there are countless other bars up and down the UK propelling the industry forward.
“Not in recent memory has the UK bar scene felt as rich in talent, or as evenly spread. London doesn’t lead the global bar industry anymore, the UK does.”
Based on Bread Street, the delighted Hey Palu team shared the moment they won the award on their Instagram, particularly impressive as they are still relative newcomers having only opened in 2019.
The Tollcross establishment, which takes its name from an informal Italian greeting, offers everything from the classics to modern takes such as the Smoked Banana Old Fashioned and the Mango Swizzle.
Oh, and don't forget their Amaro Cocktail range which uses this popular Italian spirit as their core ingredient.
Best Bar in Scotland & Northern Ireland:
(W) Hey Palu, Edinburgh
Lucky Liquor, Edinburgh
The Gate, Glasgow
Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
Bar Innovator of the Year:
(W) Iain McPherson, Panda & Sons, Edinburgh
Monica Berg and Alex Kratena, Tayēr + Elementary, London
Tommy Matthews, Passing Fancies, Birmingham
Joe and Daniel Schofield, Schofield's Bar, Manchester
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