Iain McPherson

Iain McPherson is the Co-Owner of two of Edinburgh's top cocktail bars, Panda & Sons(Queen Street) and Hoot The Redeemer(Hanover Street)-both located in the New Town. He's a man who not only holds his own with a wide breadth of cocktail skill and expertise, but also continues to pursue his passion for ice cream inside Hoot the Redeemer, as well as participating regularly in collaborations and takeovers. He's our stylish gentleman of the month and gives us a fantastic insight to his background in the industry as well as a sneak preview of what's to come.

Your bars have always been quirky and forward thinking, where do you get the inspiration for the styling and the names?

I believe most bars reflect their owners personality(or they should). I like to do things differently, when I see someone doing something, I’m not like, “I need to do that because it's a good idea". I am more like, “I need to do something else, and something no one else is really doing, and make it my own". Names-wise, my nickname is Panda. So, Panda & Sons was created to resonate a family feel (we are over 18s though), where you can get the best and most friendly service in town, and without the intimidation that some high end bars bring. Hoot The Redeemer was a name I came up with as my lovely business partner's favourite animal is an Owl. Due to its 50s quirky interior design, we thought “Hoot”was a good play on words for party and the noise an owl makes. Redeemer was chosen to portray the fact that it's a safe haven to enjoy a drink(not a religious statement which I think is sometimes mistaken).

This month shows Edinburgh hosting Tales of the Cocktail. What has been your favourite event so far?

Tales on Tour was a massive success for the city. The Global bar scene descended upon our fair city for 4 days. Our city has one of the best cocktail bar scenes in the World, and for our population, we punch above our weight, and have been consistently for a number of years now.

If you were asked to create the ultimate Edinburgh cocktail, what would be top of the ingredients list?

I think with the brilliant movement of locality gathering momentum globally it would be fitting to create a drink with this ethos. We would look to use local ingredients where we could. We would want to champion what Edinburgh is all about. I’m a big fan of Escubac, which is an apertif from the guys at Sweetdram. We would try and incorporate the Wermod Great British Vermouth which uses botanicals and herbs from the beautiful Secret Herb Garden. Others that would be top of our list are Pickerings Gin , and of course we would use Edinburgh Ice Co for the ice. Those guys are at the top of the ice game in the UK at the moment, they are both based at Summerhall.

Food and alcohol pairing is now becoming an alchemy for the taste buds, what are you current favourite combinations?

There are too many to choose from, and every week there are more and more exciting combinations coming out of so many excellent establishments. I always have my classic combos of whisky and quality dark chocolate. Another one I recommend is a lovely Martini paired with Oysters. For Oysters you must check out White Horse !

Edinburgh...New Town or Old Town?

I would say New town. Old town is great, and a must see for people visiting Edinburgh, but with the majority of the best bars, boutique shops and restaurants in the New town, it will always have my vote.

Iain wears our new Double Breasted Blazer in a stunning navy birds eye cloth, paired with soft structured trousers which come in many washed colours and of course some of our essential accessories to polish off the look.

With your considered dress sense and stylish nature, what would be the perfect missing piece from your wardrobe that we could create?

Thank you very much, very kind words. My dream is to own a three piece suit tailored by you guys. I’m thinking this could be a lovely Christmas present to myself. Thinking along the lines of an overcheck herringbone design.

We hear you are a bit of an ice cream aficionado?

Ice cream has always been in my family. My Dad worked for an ice cream company over in Hong Kong during the 70’s and 80’s. So when I was born, I had the hard job of getting to eat it all. Since then, I have always enjoyed ice cream and gelato. I love learning-google has become one of my best friends. After a lucid dream where I thought of alcohol and ice cream in the same tub, I sought out how to make this happen. I bought a couple of books and self taught. A lot of trial and error happened to create Senor Scoop(my brand of alcohol infused ice cream). I got to a point where I was happy, but not delighted. I furthered my education at The University of Reading, where I took the “Science of Ice Cream” course. This took my understanding of ice creams to a whole new level, and also opened my eyes to so many factors that make excellent ice cream. Now my urge was to understand the difference between gelato and ice cream, so I went to Gelato University in Bologna, Italy, where I furthered my education of the craft. I am also proud to be in my 3rd year as a member of the Ice Cream Alliance.

Tell us a little bit more about Señor Scoop.

We have our tiny ice cream factory in the back of Hoot The Redeemer, this is where all the magic happens. I passed on my knowledge to my dear mother, and she knows how to make all the ice creams and sorbets. Our flavours range from Whisky and dark chocolate, Bourbon cherry pie to the likes of cocktail classics like White Russians and Pina Coladas. I engineered an old frozen product vending machine to take our own products (which wasn’t easy), and you can get our whole range down at Hoot The Redeemer. There will be more outlets selling Senor Scoop during the summer, so watch this space.

With Panda & Sons and Hoot The Redeemer, two of Edinburgh's most unique bars, what could possibly be next, as we know you are not one to stand still for too long?

I’m addicted to being busy. I keep trying to tell myself I can’t wait until I have some holiday time, but I’m just kidding myself. Currently, I’m working on a project in LA with award winning Chef Jessica Largey and Joe Russo, one of the Directors of the new Avengers movie. Excited to create a place where the food and drinks are both of the highest standard under one roof. At the same time, Kyle Jamieson, Sam Chapman and myself are opening a bar down in Leith. We expect to open at the end of June, so stay tuned!

Special thanks to Iain for the brilliant interview. Be sure to check out Panda & Sons and Hoot The Redeemer to have your very own one of a kind extraordinary experience. Cheers!

All garments and styling by Stewart Christie & Co.
Photography by Laura Meek