Cocktails in Edinburgh

One of the questions we get asked most often is how we decide what goes on the menu. The honest answer is that the menu is never quite decided. It is always in the process of becoming something slightly better than it was. Every three months we reprint. Every month we run a special. Every week something new is being tried behind the bar or tested in the kitchen, quietly and without announcement, waiting to see whether it is good enough to earn its place in front of a guest. T

There is a moment with the Warmth Within that almost every guest experiences and almost none of them expect. The heat arrives, but not where you thought it would. Not on the lips. Not on the tongue. Somewhere further back, lower down, a warmth that spreads rather than stings and fades slowly rather than demanding immediate relief. It is the kind of spice that makes you want another sip rather than a glass of water. That effect is not accidental. It is the whole point of the d

There is a moment that happens at almost every table at Nectar when a clarified cocktail arrives for the first time. The guest looks at it. Then at the menu. Then back at the drink. Then usually at whoever is with them, with an expression that sits somewhere between confusion and curiosity. The drink in the glass looks nothing like the ingredients listed next to it. It is clear, or close to clear, when everything about its description suggested it should be cloudy, rich, or d

The martini is probably the most misunderstood cocktail on any bar menu. Not because it is complicated to make, but because the number of decisions involved in ordering one can feel overwhelming to anyone who has not done it before. The result is that most people default to a single combination they have heard somewhere, "very dry, shaken, straight up," without fully understanding what those words mean or whether that combination actually reflects what they enjoy. The martini

There is a particular moment in every cocktail masterclass at Nectar that Panos talks about more than anything else. It is not when the first drink comes together. It is not when someone nails the technique on the first attempt or produces something that tastes better than they expected. It is the moment when someone who arrived genuinely convinced they would be the worst person in the room takes a sip of the cocktail they made, looks up, and laughs. That moment happens at al

Some cocktails are created purely for flavour. Others are created because a conversation at the bar raises a question that refuses to go away. Mountain Chalet began with a question about garnish. Not a complicated question, but the kind that, once asked, changes how you think about every drink you build afterwards. The Visit That Started It Shortly after Nectar opened, Panos and I went to visit Panda and Sons on Queen Street. If you are not familiar with Panda and Sons, they

Some cocktails are created because a menu needs filling. Others arrive because someone set a challenge and the most interesting answer turned out not to be the one submitted. Fizz n Fig belongs firmly in the second category. It exists at Nectar not because it won anything, but because it survived something. And that story, it turns out, is more interesting than a trophy. The Competition That Started It The Diplomático Artisans of Taste is one of the more creatively demanding

Some cocktails are inspired by flavours. Others are inspired by techniques. The Lemon Cheesecake cocktail at Nectar is built around something more personal than either of those things. It is built around a memory. A specific evening, a specific table, and a dessert that took two days to make properly and became a family tradition almost by accident. This is the story behind it. The Thanksgiving Table Growing up, Thanksgiving was always celebrated at our home. Once a year, clo

Edinburgh is one of those cities that almost does the work for you when it comes to romance. The cobblestones, the candlelit closes, the way the castle catches the last of the light on a clear evening. Even a quiet Tuesday can feel like a special occasion if you end up in the right place. I have spent the last eight months running Nectar on Broughton Street, and before that several years eating and drinking my way through this city with genuine curiosity. I know what makes an

Some cocktails are built around tradition. Others start with tradition and then slowly evolve into something new. Beach Bonfire is our take on one of the most famous cocktails ever created: the Negroni. The classic Negroni is beautifully simple. It is made with three ingredients in equal parts: gin, Campari and sweet vermouth . Bitter, strong and perfectly balanced, it has been a staple of cocktail bars for over a century. A Negroni With a Sunset Twist When we started workin

Some cocktails come from inspiration. Others come from curiosity. Chemistry Lessons belongs firmly in the second category. The name of the drink is quite literal. When we created it, we were experimenting with a process that feels more like science than bartending. Why Bourbon Is Usually Brown The base spirit of this cocktail is Woodford Reserve Bourbon . Traditionally, bourbon carries a deep brown colour. This comes from the ageing process. The spirit is matured in new char

There is one cocktail on our menu that almost every guest asks about. Before anyone even orders it, the question usually comes up. "Why isn't it creamy?" The Tzatziki Martini sounds like it should be thick, rich and yoghurt-heavy. After all, tzatziki itself is made from yogurt, cucumber, garlic and dill. But when the drink arrives at the table, it looks completely clear. Crystal clear. The kind of clear that makes people pick it up, hold it to the light and look at it slightl

Some cocktails start as an idea behind the bar. Others begin much earlier, shaped by memories that stay with you long before Nectar ever existed. Drops of the River is one of those drinks. This cocktail is a tribute to summer days in Zurich, my hometown, where the River Limmat runs straight through the city. In the warmer months it becomes a place to swim, meet friends, have a drink and slowly drift into the evening before heading out for the night. I wanted to create someth

People often ask me where I like to go for drinks when I am not at Nectar. It is one of my favourite questions to answer, because Edinburgh has quietly become one of the most exciting cocktail cities in the UK, and the honest answer changes depending on what kind of night someone is after. I have been working in hospitality for years, first in Zurich, then in Edinburgh, and I have spent a lot of time in a lot of bars. I know what separates a good cocktail from a great one, an

One of the most common questions we hear at the bar is simple enough: “What’s the best cocktail on the menu?” The honest answer is that there isn’t one. Every cocktail on our menu is designed to stand on its own. No drink is meant to compete with another, and none is intended to be better than the rest. Each cocktail is an individual contribution to the menu, created to express a specific taste, mood, or idea. The real question is not which cocktail is best, but which one is

Edinburgh has no shortage of cocktail bars. Some focus on theatre, some on classics, some on atmosphere. Over the years, working behind bars and visiting many more, I’ve started to notice that the places people remember are rarely defined by one thing alone. When people ask me what makes a great cocktail bar, the answer is never just about the drinks. It’s about how everything comes together. The room, the menu, the service, and the feeling you walk away with at the end of th

When Panos and I first started talking about what the bar at Nectar was going to be, the easiest version of the conversation would have been to agree on a list of well-executed classics and a handful of crowd-pleasing signatures. Something approachable, something that would not confuse people, something that would move quickly on a busy Friday night. We did not do that. What we wanted to build was a cocktail programme that had a genuine point of view. Not drinks designed to l

Nectar has been open on Broughton Street for 6 months now, offering specialised cocktails and greek food.