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Panda & Sons

Edinburgh

• Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award 2026

One of the world’s most innovative cocktail labs

From the outside, Panda & Sons looks like a traditional, somewhat quaint barbershop on a corner in Edinburgh's New Town. However, down the unassuming stairs and a through a faux bookcase, you'll discover a wood-panelled basement that's home to one of the most innovative cocktail labs in the world.

Behind the Panda & Sons magic is founder Iain McPherson, widely regarded as the bar industry's resident mad scientist. He's famed for his plethora of pioneered techniques, including Switching – the process of freezing spirits to remove water content and replace it with other liquids to concentrate flavours – and Sous Pression, with the latest technique of Densing added to the roster in 2026. Despite the high-concept scientific wizardry happening behind the scenes, the menu remains remarkably approachable and unpretentious. In the Bonnie Orchard, the team uses Sous Pression to supercharge the traditional martinez with rosé wine, cherries, olive wood, rhubarb bitters and absinthe – adding all the flavour without any of the fuss at the point of service. It's no wonder it was named winner of the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award 2026.

A total aversion to pretentiousness underlies the whole Panda & Sons operation. The room itself is warm and inviting, filled with mismatched furniture and a crowd that feels like a local neighbourhood assembly rather than a stiff cocktail haunt. The staff are as adept at explaining the molecular structure of a drink as they are at cracking a joke, ensuring the bar never loses its sense of fun. McPherson himself is also not one to gatekeep his trailblazing techniques, publishing all of his knowledge with the public to bring even more delicious drinks to bars outside his own.

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