Scotland vs Ireland: Where Should You Drink First?

The largest private whisky collection in the world, open to the public as a working bar. 3,384 bottles arranged by region, distillery, and age. This is not a tourist attraction that happens to sell whisky. It is a serious resource where the staff can locate bottles that stopped being produced 40 years ago and explain exactly why you should care. The tasting flights are exceptional value given what you can access.

Order: A comparative tasting flight across four regions. Let the staff select based on your preferences.

A basement bar in the New Town with no sign, no social media presence that its owners encourage, and a cocktail program that has been ranked among the best in the UK for ten consecutive years. The room holds 40 people and fills every night. The menu rotates monthly and always includes something made with a Scottish craft spirit that you had not previously encountered. Arrive early or accept that you will wait outside.

Order: Their current signature cocktail, whatever it is. The bartenders make it worth trusting their judgment.

The pub that Edinburgh residents who drink seriously point you toward first. Over 140 malt whiskies behind the bar alongside rotating real ales from Scottish craft breweries. The room has not changed since 1986 and this is entirely deliberate. Wooden booths, hand-pulled beer, staff who have been there long enough to remember what the bar was like before the Royal Mile became a tourist corridor.

Order: A Speyside single malt and a half pint of whatever cask ale they have on that week

Established in 1782 and frequently cited as the finest pint of Guinness in Dublin, which is the highest possible compliment in a city where the quality of the pour is taken more seriously than almost anything else. The room is unchanged and unimproved. Journalists from the Irish Times have drunk here since the newspaper moved across the river. Go on a weekday afternoon before the evening crowd arrives.

Order: A pint of Guinness, allowed to settle completely. Nothing else is required.

The most beautiful pub interior in Dublin. Victorian mahogany back bar, ornate mirrors, and a long room that rewards slow drinking. The Long Hall has been open since the 1880s and takes its reputation seriously. The Guinness is excellent. The whiskey selection runs to 80 Irish bottles with genuine depth in aged expressions from Midleton and Kilbeggan. This is the pub you describe to people who have never been to Dublin.

Order: A glass of aged Irish whiskey from their back bar selection, alongside the inevitable Guinness

A pub that still has the original grocers' counter from when it operated as both a bar and general store. The snugs at the back are the most coveted seats in Dublin for a private conversation over a long afternoon. The pints are exceptional. The staff are experienced in the specific art of letting you sit for as long as you need without making you feel like you should order faster.

Order: Guinness in a snug. Ideally a Wednesday afternoon when the city is quiet enough to appreciate it.

Dublin's best craft beer bar represents the city's newer drinking culture. Eighteen rotating taps from Irish and international craft breweries, run by people who understand what they are pouring. The food is counter-service burgers and genuinely good. The crowd is young and knowledgeable. Against the Grain proves that Dublin's bar scene extends well beyond the traditional pub, even if the traditional pub remains the main attraction.

Order: Whatever Irish craft beer they are most excited about that week. Ask and they will tell you.

A pub with a long-standing no-music policy that produces one of the finest conversational atmospheres in Ireland. The walls are covered in work by Irish artists who paid their tabs in paintings. The Guinness is among the best in the city. The crowd includes writers, artists, and academics who have been using Grogans as a working environment since long before that was a concept you could put in a travel article.

Order: Guinness. Possibly a cheese and ham toastie from the kitchen.