Iain McPherson of Panda & Sons in Edinburgh, Scotland has been crowned as winner of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award as part of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024, sponsored by Perrier.

The Bartender's Bartender is an annual award voted on by the bartenders on each year's list of the The World’s 50 Best Bars, and refers to the one peer who pushes the limits of what it means to be a great bartender. The award celebrates the individual who has made a significant impact on the global bar sector, recognising their commitment to supporting the international bar community over the past year.  made a significant impact in the global bar sector over the

Ahead of the live awards ceremony in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday 22 October 2024, Iain McPherson was crowned the Bartender's Bartender.

Iain first began his career in hospitality at The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh as a bar back in 2007, working alongside some of the most esteemed bartending talent, before opening his own bar, Panda & Sons, just six short years later. 

Hidden behind a vintage barbershop frontage on Queen Street, Panda & Sons is part cocktail pub, part Prohibition speakeasy, complete with russet wood panellings adorned with knick-knacks and curiosities galore, alongside numerous Panda-inspired touches. Iain later opened his second bar, Hoot the Redeemer in the city, a New Orleans-inspired dive bar that quickly gained a fanbase for its outstanding cocktails and boozy ice cream.

Over the years, he has taken on the role of unofficial ambassador for Scottish hospitality and, in 2018, launched Nauticus in Edinburgh’s port town of Leith to champion Scottish produce and Scottish producers. Earlier this year, Iain was also integral in founding the first Edinburgh Bar Show to inspire, educate, entertain and unite the Scottish bar community and showcase the city’s hospitality offering to some of the greatest international bartending talent.

Iain is widely credited as the creator of the innovative Sous Pression method, a cocktail technique that involves harnessing the power of freezing to extract flavors from ingredients. Committed to knowledge-sharing within the industry, Iain offers full transparency on his proprietary technique, having travelled the world to host seminars and masterclasses to teach fellow bartenders how to apply his technique to their own cocktail menus. 

On winning the award, McPherson says: “I am overwhelmingly full of gratitude to be named this year’s Altos Bartenders’ Bartender. How meaningful it is to be nominated by the people that I look up to and admire daily – a true honour. Awards, especially one like this, are never truly an ‘individual’ effort but a reflective accolade of the creative, collaborative, driven and passionate team at Panda & Sons.

They continuously inspire me and together we have pushed boundaries, creating magic for all. It's always a huge honour to be representing bonnie wee Scotland on the international bartending stage and I believe this award also shines a light on what an amazing bar scene we have in Edinburgh."

The countdown of the list of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024, sponsored by Perrier, will also be broadcast live to a global audience who are not able to attend in person. Bars and cocktail lovers are invited to join through The World’s 50 Best Bars Facebook page and 50 Best Bars TV channel on YouTube.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team