Whisky lover and author Charlie MacLean has made a life out of rating Scotch whisky. Here are his favourite ways to enjoy a dram, from cosy city pubs in Edinburgh to Victorian hotels in the Highlands.
Edinburgh, Scotland’s cosmopolitan capital, is brimming with Unesco cache. Both its architecturally splendid medieval Old Town and Neoclassical New Town are World Heritage sites, while Edinburgh itself was named the world’s first City of Literature in 2004. Overseas, Edinburgh is equally as revered for its whisky culture. There are more than 385 pubs in the city where you can savour the peat-flavoured drink right in its country of origin.
“It’s growing,” says esteemed scotch writer Charles “Charlie” MacLean. “A lot of bars have expanded the range of whiskies, and the knowledge on part of the bar staff in order to be able to advise customers.”
Glasgow-born journalist and whisky expert Charlie MacLean has lived in Edinburgh since 1976. He is the founding editor of Whisky Magazine and his Glenfiddich Award-winning book Malt Whisky (1997) is considered an authority on the topic. In 2021, he was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his services to Scotch whisky.
For MacLean, the enduring global appeal of Scotch whisky owes much to “fashion – after the Second World War, it was the drink of the free world”, particularly in dolce vita-era Italy, where it was “introduced by the GIs and promoted by Hollywood. But secondly, Scotch scores on its deep history and its craft. If you want to go beyond simply enjoyment, whisky rewards analysis, and I think that’s become part of the appeal. It is an acquired taste. It’s not a child’s drink. If you get the taste of it, it’s hugely rewarding.”
Historic though it may be, Edinburgh’s whisky culture is anything but stale. Here are MacLean’s top Scotch whisky experiences – in Edinburgh and beyond.
1. BEST FOR WHISKY NEWBIES: JOHNNIE WALKER PRINCES STREET
“We have an awful lot of international tourists,” says MacLean. “They love whisky, and the city has responded to that with whisky bars and places like the Johnnie Walker Centre.”
Confessions of a whisky expert: “There’s no best whisky,” says MacLean. “The old Scots saying was, ‘There’s no best whisky; there’s good whisky and better whisky’.” For MacLean, it’s the atmosphere that makes the difference. “It’s the situation and the company that make the best whisky in the world,” he says – reminiscing about his favourite-ever whisky experience, drinking with dear friends while ice fishing on the River Tweed on the English-Scottish border. “It was bitterly cold, and it was rubbish whisky. But in the circumstances, it was ambrosia. The best whisky in the world”.
The mammoth eight-storey Johnnie Walker Princes Street, housed in the former Houses of Fraser department store, offers an immersive, multi-faceted whisky experience. “[It’s] an introduction to Scotch whisky that has done very, very well,” says MacLean. “The eight floors are huge!”
2. MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE BARTENDERS: CANNY MAN’S
MacLean has made a life of rating whisky, but humbly demurs at the epithet expert. “It was purely by luck that I got into it,” says the former ghost writer, now working on his 20th book on whisky. “It’s like Alice in Wonderland; you go through one door and then there are more doors.”
For an Alice in Wonderland Scotch experience, MacLean suggests: “Go to a bar with a knowledgeable bartender. Go with a couple of friends, so there’s three of you. Say to the bartender, ‘Give us three whiskies in nosing glasses.’ And say, ‘Right, we liked that number three; give us three more like that.” You note and taste. What you’re doing is developing the knowledge that they’re not all the same.”
While MacLean says there are many knowledgeable bartenders in Edinburgh, his first stop is Canny Man’s, a historic public house helmed by Iain Kerr. “His family have owned this idiosyncratic traditional bar since 1871,” says MacLean. “It is highly atmospheric, crowded with memorabilia – every one of which has a story, many of them donated to settle bar bills!”
The antique and trinket-filled pub is found in Edinburgh’s upscale, tree-lined Morningside neighbourhood. Though most famous for its Bloody Mary, Canny Man’s holds regular Scotch tastings and names a “New Malt of the Month”. “It offers a wide range of malts (around 300) and its own house blend,” adds MacLean.
3. BEST COSY SMALL BAR: KAY’S BAR
For MacLean, there are outdoor whiskies and indoor whiskies: “If you’re outdoors, I would go for an Islay whisky like Lagavulin; elemental, smoky whiskies. Then for the evening, go for more sherry-style whiskies, like Glendalough or Glenfarclas.”
For a cosy evening tipple, MacLean recommends Kay’s Bar, a snug pub in Edinburgh’s New Town. “It’s got a real fire, a companionable atmosphere and a large selection of whiskies and beers,” he says of the Victorian-era pub with red-painted walls and red velvet seating. “Kay’s was actually established as a wine and spirit merchant in the 18th Century. It’s a lovely, cosy small bar.”
Tiny Kay’s accommodates one long bench with a smattering of tables around it, making it easy to get acquainted with your neighbour.
4. BEST COCKTAILS: BRAMBLE
“I must mention Bramble,” says MacLean emphatically. “Tiny, tiny cocktail bar in a tiny basement. But they’ve won global prizes for their cocktails and knowledge of spirits.”
Bramble is found in a row of stately townhouses on Queen Street, distinguishable only by a tiny sign on an iron fence. The humble, dimly lit space began serving its uniquely inventive cocktails in 2006 – cracking the 50 Best Bars in the World in 2009 and remaining on the list for five years – and has consistently racked up prizes ever since.
“They do some ready-made cocktails with whiskies,” notes MacLean. These change regularly but current standouts include the “Triple Corn” (pisco, corn whisky, corn liqueur, sweetcorn, coriander and lime) and the “Shadowman” (made from whisky, Latvian kummel liqueur, chamomile, rosemary and lemon). “The guys behind that are among the leading cocktail makers in the world,” says MacLean.
