The Edinburgh bar with the best cocktail menu in the world

Cocktails are a fine art – temperatures have to be just right, ice cubes must be the perfect size and don’t you dare shake something that should be stirred. But, of course, rules are there to be broken, and bars all over the world are constantly playing with the rules of mixology. Now, one bar in Scotland has been recognised for creating the best, most innovative drinks menu on the planet.

The cocktail menu at Edinburgh’s Panda & Sons was named the best in the world at the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s 2025 Spirited Awards on Tuesday, July 25 and won top prize for best international bar team. 

The speakeasy-style bar is known for its wildly inventive approach to cocktails. Its mixologists gather like mad scientists into a basement dubbed the ‘Brain Melting Society’ to experiment with creating new flavours and textures at sub-zero temperatures. Owner Iain McPherson (who also won best international bar mentor at this year’s Spirited Awards) even enrolled onto a Science of Ice Cream course at the University of Reading and the Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna to get clued up on the art of freezing. 

The result is its ‘Transcend’ menu, split into four chapters based on funky sub-zero techniques: sous pression, switching, freeze drying and cryo concentration. You’ll have to go to the bar itself to discover exactly what concoctions it has created. 

Thanks to all that innovation, Panda & Sons is no stranger to accolades. It’s a regular on the prestigious World’s 50 Best Bars list and was ranked the second best cocktail spot in the UK earlier this year. 

In response to its wins at the Spirited Awards, Panda & Sons said: ‘To say we’re overwhelmed is an understatement. These awards mean the world, but what means even more is the recognition of the passion, commitment, and care that goes into what we do every day.

‘For Iain, this is the result of over 20 years of love and labour in this industry. His north star has always been to raise the standard of the bar world, to see it celebrated and respected in the same way as the food industry. That vision has shaped everything we do at Panda & Sons.

‘But none of this would be possible without our exceptional management team, our dedicated bar team and every single person who’s poured their heart into this journey with us. This is not one person’s award, it’s a team’s legacy in the making.’

The only other UK venue to pick up a prize at the awards was Side Hustle at London’s NoMad Hotel, which won best international hotel bar. 

Heading to Auld Reekie soon? Discover more of its finest bars, chosen by locals, here. And in the mood for more Great British booze? We’ve got lists of our favourite in London, Manchester, Glasgow and beyond, and the best pubs in the country, depending on what mood you’re in. We’ve also got guides to the best rooftop bars and vineyards, to make sure all bases are covered.