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Feature
Cocktail chat: Iain McPherson
Panda & Sons boss Iain McPherson has helped create Scotland’s first international bar show. He explains why Edinburgh is the perfect city to play host to the trade-only event.
*This feature was originally published in the April 2024 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
As a destination, Edinburgh pretty much has it all. “It’s got an amazing bar scene, it’s very historic, it’s absolutely beautiful, it’s easy to get around, and highly walkable, there are museums and galleries, and the food scene is as good as it gets as well,” says Iain McPherson, bartender and founder of Panda & Sons, a world-class cocktail bar in the Scottish capital.
If there’s one thing the city is missing, the nitpickers might point to an international bar show. But that’s all set to change with the debut of the Edinburgh Bar Show (EBS), put together by McPherson and industry veterans Jamie Faulds and Gary Anderson, who are also the creators of Edinburgh’s annual cocktail week.
Why now? “Honestly, we just decided that it’s probably a good time to do one,” McPherson says. “This is nearly at the beginning of the ‘bar show tour’ year. We don’t have aspirations to be the size of, say, Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC) or Bar Convent Berlin, we just want an independent feel.”
The festivities will take place between 8 and 10 April, and you will have to scroll back six or so years to find the last time that Scotland saw something of comparable quality.
“I think it was in 2018 with Tales on Tour, which I helped curate,” McPherson says, noting the offshoot event to the annual TOTC. “It brought a really great energy to the city, and a strong sense of community. Everyone had fun together, there were lots of special events happening and lots of education”.
With the aim of hosting the show on an annual basis, the idea is to celebrate bar culture, but with a Scottish slant that highlights the best of what the region has to offer, from the drinks right up to the hospitality. “Scottish people are very warm and welcoming, and that’s really come into play at the Edinburgh Bar Show,” McPherson says.
“I travel to a lot of bar shows and, yes, they are great, but for us, what gives Scotland a really unique advantage is just the tremendous number of spirits, liqueurs and whatnot that are actually made here,” he continues. “It’s not just the obvious thing where people think ‘oh there is Scotch’, but loads of other stuff too. It’s a blend of the brilliant produce that comes from here, and the bar scene. We just want to promote it all. We have larger brands, but we’re trying to get a nice balance of small independent places as well. It’s really important to offer something new where people come up and learn about distilleries that they’ve never heard of before. For instance, Port of Leith, which has just opened a distillery, is on board.”
A rallying call
As with the rest of the UK, and the world for that matter, Scottish hospitality has had a rough time of it following the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Many venues have closed. Many are struggling to stay open.
But McPherson is hoping he and the team can inject some much-needed positivity into the industry, and instil a renewed sense of community.
“Look, I mean, we can talk for hours about that, and the cocktail scene is doing well, but one thing we’re finding, especially in Scotland, is that the taxes are just going through the roof,” he says.
“That’s been pretty tough, and there seems to be some kind of agenda against anything related to alcohol here. I’m proud to be Scottish, but they [the government] have not made it easy for potential new bar owners, existing bar owners, or just hospitality in general.”
McPherson says he just wants to “rally everyone together, put on a really good show, and get as many bars involved as possible”. The show’s dates – on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – should have a “nice financial impact” too, on days that are usually much quieter than weekends. “One thing we’re quite confident about is that it’s going to be a good take for the bars.”
McPherson stresses the Edinburgh Bar Show is bringing a multi-layered approach to the city. “It’s not all about drinking,” he jokes. “We’ve got great walks, like going up Arthur’s Seat, which is such a rewarding thing to do, to get to the top of that hill and see the city below. We’ve organised a UK-wide five-a-side football tournament. We’re not just night-time, so we’re arranging a lot of day activities for trade, like distillery tours – most bartenders are nerds and want to learn.”
In addition, the show is also overseeing a slew of talks and seminars, on subjects such as sustainability and finding a healthy work-life balance. The team has brought in professionals to host these. “I could probably talk about it, but I’m not qualified to do so,” says McPherson. “We’ve tried to get in the right professionals to help people understand the pathway to combatting and avoiding burnout.”
Free entry
There’ll also be an appearance from Manchester’s LGBTQ+ bar Red Light, which will cover the inclusivity side of things. And it’s important to note that everything will be free, with entry taking place on a first-come-first-served basis. “We just want people to have access to all the education that we’re offering,” he adds.
Overall, there’s much to anticipate. The team has even nabbed Erik Lorincz, one of the world’s most respected bartenders, former head bartender of the American Bar at The Savoy, and co-owner of Kwãnt in Mayfair, London, to host a bar takeover for House of Suntory. “I’m super excited,” McPherson enthuses. “He’s like a celebrity of the bar world. Having him here is sort of like the headliner of a music festival.”
As with all debuts, McPherson is prepared that it might not be smooth sailing. “It is our first year, we are going to make mistakes, and we’re going to realise things could be better the following year – that’s why we’ve kept it to just three full days this year, so we can manage it and make sure we can execute well and build.”
Anything else? “We’re also really excited about showing Edinburgh to a new generation of bartenders who have never really experienced a bar show before.” But McPherson quips: “Just note, our weather can also be a bit unpredictable.”
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