Edinburgh Cocktail Week, supported by Essential Edinburgh, returns next month, once again transforming the capital into a cocktail lovers playground, with signature serves, pop-up experiences and events taking place across the city.

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Located at its usual home on Festival Square, the Cocktail Village will once again be the spirited, social hub of the festival, featuring a new design inside and out, a record 24 pop-up bars, twice as many £5 cocktails with each bar offering a minimum of two within their menu, standout street food trucks and live music from local bands, artists and DJs. New features for the Cocktail Village this year include a Village Pub themed area operated by Seamus’s, where festivalgoers can enjoy a pint and traditional serves with fireside trad music, darts and board games. Other exciting new elements include sixty percent more seating and an outdoor drinks terrace with castle views, while four-legged friends are welcome too, with the Cocktail Village now officially dog-friendly on weekdays.

Open daily from 12 noon to 11pm daily (8pm close on Sundays), the Cocktail Village will showcase bespoke cocktail creations from prestigious brands and local bars including Copper Blossom, Hendrick’s Gin, Bumbu Rum, Au Vodka, 818 Tequila (yes, Kendall Jenner’s tequila), Manahatta, Schweppes (Official Mixer Partner), The Herringbone Horsebox, Dutch Barn Vodka, Buck’s Bar, Lonkero, Boston Bar, Tito’s Vodka, Dead Man's Fingers, Funkin, Mixtons, 4042, Licor 43, Martin Miller’s Gin, Casamigos, Bevanda, The Prosecco Bar, West Side Rodeo, Sips Tequila Cantina, Four Roses Bourbon, Blur 69 Vodka, Shetland Reel Gin, Island Slice Rum, Holy Grass Vodka, Pa Todos Tequila, Five Ways Whisky Liqueur, Madri, Asahi, XIX Vodka, Casa Staibano and more.

Foodie enthusiasts will be excited to hear that a new Street Food Market is set to make its debut at the Cocktail Village, including: Dough La La, Truck Sri and The Wee Taqueria.

Beyond Festival Square, the festival offers an excuse to step out in style and catch up with friends while exploring the very best of Edinburgh’s splendorous cocktail scene at the 100+ bars offering £5 cocktails during the festival. From grand institutions to the latest openings, internationally acclaimed speakeasies to relaxed corner pubs, there are drinks and experiences for everyone to enjoy.

Returning favourites such as The Dome, Tigerlily and The Alchemist will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with over 30 brand-new additions including BABA, Bar 1819, Bar Uno, Boston Bar, Brunswick Book Club, Crybaby, Edinburgh Gin Distillery Bar, Fazenda Rodizio Bar and Grill, Le Petit Beef Bar, Little Picardy, Luckenbooths, Manahatta, Mara, Paradise Palms, Pizza Pilgrims, Roxy Lane, Ryan's Bar, Seamus’s Bar, The Earl of Marchmont, The Pilgrim, The Spanish Butcher, The Volley, Vessel and West Port Oracle.

Returning for 2025, festival-goers can also indulge themselves in a selection of Prestige Cocktails. These elevated serves have been crafted by the city’s most talented mixologists and award-winning venues, including Panda & Sons who were recently awarded World’s Best Cocktail Menu. Prestige Cocktails can be enjoyed for £9 on presentation of a wristband. There is a host of new bars joining Edinburgh Cocktail Week’s Prestige collection including, The Hoxton, Lucky Liquor, Nor’ Loft, The Wildcat and Joao’s Place in W Hotel Edinburgh. Returning Prestige Cocktails venues include The Register Club, Devil’s Advocate, Harrods Champagne Bar, the Commons Club and Lady Libertine.

Gary Anderson, Managing Director of Edinburgh Cocktail Week, said: “It’s a particularly thrilling year for us with all the exciting changes to our Cocktail Village - attendees can look forward to lots of new experiences and a great day out. It is genuinely heartwarming to see so many familiar faces during the festival and in our comments on social media throughout the year. For many of our wristband holders, our festival has become an annual tradition for meeting up with friends, from near and afar, which is joyous to see. 

“For the last nine years, our small team has focused on creating an experience that is inclusive, unique, fun and memorable for our customers, while at the same time giving back to our bar community upon which our festival is built. We believe this approach has propelled us to become the country’s leading cocktail festival, all thanks to our customers’ continued support. We look forward to welcoming everyone next month.”

Roddy Smith, CEO of Essential Edinburgh, added: “Edinburgh Cocktail Week is a highlight of the year for many of our bars and Essential Edinburgh is delighted to continue our investment for the fifth year, supporting ECW’s continued growth and development. We have more city centre bars participating in ECW 2025 than ever before and are immensely proud to call Edinburgh City Centre home to the UK's largest cocktail festival. We are excited at all that this year's programme has to offer, so if you haven’t yet got your wristbands, don’t delay - you’ll not want to miss it!"

A full list of the brands and bars taking part can be found on the Edinburgh Cocktail Week website and in notes to editors below. Wristbands are on sale now at edinburghcocktailweek.co.uk. 

• Weekend 1 – £12.50 (valid Fri 3 – Sun 5 Oct)
• Weekday – £8 (valid Mon 6 – Thurs 9 Oct)
• Weekend 2 – £12.50 (valid Fri 10 – Sun 12 Oct)
• Ten Day – £18 (valid Fri 3 – Sun 12 Oct)

Wristbands give access to £5 cocktails across all 100+ participating bars for the 10-day festival duration, as well as entry to the Cocktail Village at Festival Square on the dates above.