I had gorgeous and inspiring new cocktails at this Edinburgh five-star luxury hotel

placeholder image — Bar Prince | Rocco Forte Hotels

I’ve been shaking it up all October

It’s been a muddly, swizzled, on-the-rocks kind of month so far.

I mean that in the best possible way.

I’ve been to the launch of Edinburgh Cocktail Week (running until Sunday, October 11), where I milled around the tent and tried my first lagerita (a Margarita with lager in it).

Then there was the launch of Scotland’s first branch of Ottolenghi on the capital’s George Street, where I quaffed their kumquat spritzes.

It was preceded, a couple of weeks before, by the opening of west-end cocktail bar Understory.

And, on Monday night, I visited The Balmoral’s Bar Prince, as they’ve just launched their Mythical Legends cocktail list, which is inspired by Scotland’s folklore. Served in a pretty coupe glass, I tried the foamy and pastel-pink dragonfruit garnished gin-based Dragon’s Tale, but my favourite of their imaginative creations was zingy number The Highlander, which is a take on a clarified milk punch and features Aberfeldy 16 Whisky, ginger liqueur, strawberry puree and Noilly Prat. (I’ve met Noilly and he IS a prat).

It made me think about Scotland’s cocktail revival, which started about 15 years or so ago, first in bars, then also in restaurants. Now, these drinks are served everywhere.

I feel I’ve come a long way too, when I think back to my first cocktail, which came straight out of mum and dad’s drinks cabinet, and included a glug of the ancient Christmas brandy and enough of dad’s Famous Grouse that he wouldn’t notice.

Then there were the snakebite and black years.

Anyway, I have been inspired to compile a self-indulgent list of my all-time faves, see below.

1. The Negroni. My preferred cocktail has medicinal vibes, and this is a classic of the linctus genre. A few years ago, I decided I would make them at home, including the giant spherical ice-cubes, even though they freezer burnt my paws and would often go yeeting across the floor. Anyway, I sickened myself, and the last of the vermouth was left mouldering in the cupboard. However, I am recently back in the game and loving them again. If you can’t be bothered making one, there’s always the ready mixed Blood Orange Negroni from Leith’s Electric Spirit Co.

2. The Margarita. It’s not that sophisticated, but lime and tequila go together like Richard E Grant and Maya Jama. I feel that the spicy Margarita thing will be banished soon, so I can stop having lip-tingling chilli on the rim of my glass.

3. Martini. The first sign of being over 40 is enjoying Martinis, especially the savoury ones, like a Gibson, which has a pickled onion garnish. One of my best days of this summer was when my friend pulled a bottle of gin out of her freezer and made us an impromptu dirty Martini with a bit of pickle juice. We sat in the back garden and talked to the neighbour’s dog. The best I’ve had in a restaurant this year was at Eleven Fifty Five in Glasgow. They’re a Martini kind of place.

4. Amaretto Sour. Another oft-forgotten homemade banger that is very easy to make for those who don’t want to use more than three ingredients. Recently, I had the best ever take on the sour genre when I visited Edinburgh’s Johnnie Walker’s 1820 Rooftop Bar. They’ve had a shake-up of their cocktail and food menus, thanks to restaurant whizz Scott Smith, formerly of Fhior, and cocktail supremo Ryan Chetiyawardana. I was enthralled by the Rollerskate Sour - pretty-in-pink and containing Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, purple ube, banana pisco, and calamansi. I will not be trying to create it at home, as Tesco is out of purple ube, but I loved it nonetheless.

5. The Aviation - a cocktail that’s celebrating its 80th birthday this year. I recently made this purple drink as a friend bought me some violet liqueur, and she was coming to visit. It also contains maraschino liqueur, but I’m a cheapskate so I used cherry brandy instead, and spent ages squeezing lemons, only to discover that you don’t need that much. It was a botch job, but it still tasted pretty good and there was much merriment and staying up after 9pm. If you’re looking for ingredients, try Edinburgh shop Nip’s, on York Place. Everything you could need is in there.

6. The Old-Fashioned. I feel that this combination of whisky, sugar and bitters is like the libation equivalent of a Werther’s Original. Still, I love them. The sweets and the drink.

7. Whitebox’s Clover Club. The Edinburgh ready-made-cocktail brand launched this new variety in the summer, and it’s SO good. It comes in a tiny can for £4, and when I buy one from the offy Cornelius on Leith Walk, the guy in the shop says it’s fun to pretend you’re a giant when you’re drinking it. Indeed. At Christmas, I like this brand’s XO Vieux Carre (whisky, brand, sweet vermouth and bitters). You can’t do more than one. They’re feisty as heck.

8. The Daiquiri. Edinburgh’s epic Panda & Sons once served me a coconut daiquiri of my dreams. Still, I do love the classic version. I feel that I'm just a sucker for anything with lime juice in it, and maybe that means I was a scurvy-riddled sailor in a previous life. That would also explain my bandy legs and constantly shivering timbers.

9. Things that I do not like: long cocktails, Bloody Marys, vodka-based drinks, snowballs and sugary options like Sex on the Beach or a Porn Star, which will both give you a beamer upon ordering them at the bar. The wasabi cocktail I once tried. Buzz Balls. Add to the list spritzers or seltzers, apart from the occasional Ottolenghi ooh-la-la kumquat spritz. And espresso Martinis, because, as much as I love a cocktail, I do not want to be awake all night - unless we’re drinking Aviations that is.