Edinburgh Festival

It’s that time of year again when Edinburgh buzzes for the month of August as the various festivals within the Edinburgh Festival entertain tens of thousands of people.

Having previously worked in Edinburgh in the hospitality trade for 14 years, I know first hand the effect the Festival and the Fringe Festival have on the city.

Of particular interest to us at Whisky Please are the various whisky related activities featuring at many venues throughout the city during the Edinburgh Festival. Special mention goes to “The Whisky Fringe” – a “must do” for any whisky fan, but be warned, at the time of writing, it’s all sold out!

There are some really good whisky bars in Edinburgh that merit a visit. Many of these can be found either on, or just off The Royal Mile. A few worth mentioning are The Whiski Rooms, The Bow Bar and The Albanach.

Whiski Rooms has established a reputation as being one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh and one of the best Whisky Bars in the world.

The Bow Bar found favour with me in the late 80’s as a haven for Cask Conditioned Ale. As my years progressed, I turned my attention to the array of Single malt Whiskies on the gantry and honed my appreciation of whisky from then on. The Bow Bar was voted “Whisky Bar of the Year” in 2012.

The Albanach on The Royal Mile is a relative youngster, but nonetheless, it has a great atmosphere and an impressive stock of over 250 single malt whiskies. The whisky selection has been known to include a White Bowmore and several rare single cask bottlings.

If you get the chance to visit The Edinburgh Festival at some point in your life, do so. It is a varied experience of arts, humour, drama and fun. The list of artists / comedians that have gone from relative obscurity to considerable fame after appearing at the Edinburgh Festival is a long one. Edinburgh Festival 2015 details can be found here.

Cheers!

Whisky Ian.