The owners of Hey Palu in Edinburgh, Alex and Rachel Bailey Palumbo, have opened an agaveria in the Scottish capital's neighbourhood of Leith.
Chancho, which soft launched yesterday, offers 20 agave spirits, agave-forward cocktails and beers.
The bar, which translates to fat pig, is the passion project of Rachel Bailey Palumbo, who “travelled through Mexico 20 years ago and fell in love with agave spirits”.
Alex Palumbo told CLASS: “[At Chancho] we wanted to celebrate agave spirits. We offer a small selection of 20 agave spirits, ranging from tequila, mezcal, sotol, bacanora, raicilla etc, local beers and agave forward cocktails.
"All the tequila we use is additive free and we only use producers that really respect the origin of these wonderful spirits.”
Signature cocktails at Chancho err towards spun classics, with the nine-strong opening list of £10.50 cocktails comprising: Yuzu Margarita (tequila, yuzu, lime), Picante (tequila, mezcal, chili, lime), Honey Bee (tequila, honey, mandarin, orange blossom), Rhubarb Paloma (mezcal, aperitivo, passionfruit, pineapple), E8 Smoke Up (mezcal, aperitivo, passionfruit, pineapple), Pastello (tequila, mezcal, apricot, mango), Saltamontes (tequila, cacao, mint, cream), El Bruto (mezcal, coffee, amaro, corn), Tequila Martini (tequila, dry sherry, peach).
Classics include Mezcaloni (mezcal, Amaro, bitters) Oaxaca Old Fashioned (tequila, mezcal, agave) and Naked & Famous (mezcal, aperitivo, amaro, lime), while Chancho also borrows a trio of Hey Palu favourites – the Negroni, Martini and Old Fashioned.
The owners will now share their time between the venues, with GM Andy Galloway leading Hey Palu, the aperitivo bar named Best Bar in Scotland in 2023 and a finalist in the Class Bar Awards category this year.
Chancho can be found at: 7 Bernard St, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6SL