The Best Whiskey Bars in Edinburgh
6 whiskey bars in Edinburgh ranked by selection, expertise, and atmosphere.
Edinburgh is one of the great whisky cities on earth. The Scotch whisky industry has its commercial centre an hour west in Glasgow but Edinburgh has the deepest concentration of serious whisky bars per square mile of any city in the world.
The bars cluster in the Old Town, New Town, and Leith. Most run 200 to 700 bottle lists with serious independent bottler representation alongside the major distilleries.
Order a single malt from a region you have not tried. Islay if you have not had a peated dram, Speyside for sherry cask, Highland for fruity, or a Lowlands for light and grassy. Or order a flight comparing three.
The 6 best whiskey bars in Edinburgh
The Bow Bar
350 plus whiskies on the back wall. Knowledgeable bartenders who steer you to the right dram. Cask ale alongside. Open daily.
The Scotch Whisky Experience
Educational venue with the largest single collection of Scotch whisky in the world (over 3,400 bottles). Touristy but the collection is real. Open daily.
Devil s Advocate
Cocktail bar in a converted Victorian pump house with a serious whisky back bar. Open daily.
The Whiski Rooms
Whisky tasting bar with around 300 single malts and tasting flights organised by region. Open daily.
Cadenhead s Tasting Bar
Heritage independent bottler tasting room. Cadenheads is Scotland s oldest independent bottler, established 1842. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
The Last Word Saloon
Cocktail bar with a serious whisky focus. The bartenders are knowledgeable. Open daily.
The bars worth going to, weekly.
One email every week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 60 cities worldwide.
Other categories in Edinburgh
Reach bar-goers in every major city.
Sponsored listings, newsletter placements, and city guide partnerships across 60 cities. Contact us to get your bar in front of the right audience.