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June 7, 2018

cocktail news from Glasgow and Edinburgh All the cocktail news from Glasgow and Edinburgh: Champagne Central have launched a new cocktail menu inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Dunno about you but we could go a cocktail. And, as it happens, we have just mixed up a fresh batch of all the cocktail news from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

First up, Champagne Central in The Principal Grand Central Glasgow has launched its new Bouquet of Roses cocktail menu.

As you all know, this is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Each cocktail on the new menu is inspired by the great Glaswegian designer and his famous rose motif. All the cocktails are named after a coloured rose.

The Pink Rose is a mix of Belvedere vodka, lemon juice, rose liqueur and rose bitters with crushed black pepper and Peychaud's bitters.

The Yellow Rose is a vodka martini with a rosy twist. It mixes Belvedere grapefruit vodka, Cocchi Americano, rose liqueur and rose water mist.

Cocktail for two

For those who like to share cocktails with friends, the Rose Gold cocktail is perfect for two.

A twist on the classic Old Fashioned, is is served in a Charles Rennie Mackintosh hip flask over a frozen rose. It features Glenmorangie Signet mixed with Old Fashioned bitters, a brown sugar cube and orange bitters. The Rose Gold cocktail can be served smoked or unsmoked.

Scott Kerr, Champagne Central bar manager, said: 'When creating the Bouquet of Roses cocktail menu, my main and most obvious inspiration was Mackintosh’s classic rose motif... It represents elegance. As Champagne Central is housed within one of the most elegant historic buildings in Glasgow, the rose motif seemed to perfectly reflect the beauty of The Grand Central Hotel.'

Champagne Central recently underwent a fantoosh makeover. We wrote about it in the blog. You can book afternoon tea in Champagne Central via 5pm Dining.

Edinburgh cocktail news

On the other side of the M8, Edinburgh Cocktail Week have announced their plans for this year’s hoolie.

Running from Monday 15th to Sunday 21st October, the event will feature a 750 square meter Cocktail Village at Festival Square on Lothian Road.

There will be a Secret Spirits Study master class hub and bar on Queens Street plus a week-long program of events and parties across the capital.

Over 80 of the city’s favourite cocktail bars will be taking part.

The growth of the festival from three to seven days follows the popularity of last year’s inaugural Edinburgh Cocktail Weekend.

Organiser Gary Anderson commented, ‘We are thrilled to reveal our plans for this year’s Edinburgh Cocktail Week. Last year proved that Edinburgh is the biggest cocktail capital outside of London. It demonstrated a need to expand the event to a week-long celebration... Edinburgh has some of the best bars and mixologists in the world and Edinburgh Cocktail Week is about showcasing and supporting the city's thriving cocktail scene. We can’t wait for October to arrive and look forward to welcoming cocktail-lovers to Scotland’s biggest cocktail festival.’

Best cocktail bar in the UK is...

Plans for Edinburgh Cocktail Week were announced in the same week that Edinburgh's Bramble bar was awarded the title of Best Cocktail Bar in the UK.

The Queen street basement bar was named top dog in the well respected Top 50 Cocktail Bars list.

Other Edinburgh bars to make an appearance were the Devil's Advocate which finished eighteenth on the list. Panda & Sons was 22nd while Bar Tonic came in 40th. Aberdeen bar Orchid was the only other Scottish venue to be named.

Keep checking back for more cocktail news from Glasgow and Edinburgh.