 Established in 2018, The Raging Bull is a cocktail bar located in the heart of Edinburgh on Lothian Road. We wanted to open a bar which focuses on making fun and innovative cocktails. We have two bars - our main bar when you enter from Lothian Road, and our Basement bar, open for private functions and parties. So please leave any inhibitions at the door and take a walk on the wild side! Initially we wanted to put our own twist on popular classics, bringing them a certain pizzazz that was lacking. This is where the espresso martini came to mind. We knew how popular this cocktail was in Edinburgh, as every good cocktail bar in the city at least does the classic. So ever since opening we have always had at least 6 variations of this drink which changes seasonally. Some of our most popular creations include ‘The Salted Caramel’, ‘Chocolate Mint’, ‘Banoffee Pie’, ‘Orange’, ‘Gingerbread’, and ‘Flat White Martini’ to name a few. Our team of mixologists spend months coming up with the perfect balance while tweaking and perfecting them so that once they’re on the menu they are the best quality they can possibly be. If you’re lucky enough to be in the bar when the team are experimenting, then you may even get to try one of our creations, although your payment will be honest feedback. And if one espresso martini isn’t enough for you, then try ‘The Raging Bull’ our double espresso martini served in a crystal goblet! That will certainly give you your Saturday night caffeine kick.  For those who don’t like coffee, then don’t be disappointed as we have 11 other non-espresso cocktails which are all created by our team. From sweet to smoky, there is something for everyone! We also change this menu seasonally to try and keep in line with the cold dark Edinburgh winters and the not so cold and not so dark… cloudy summers. If you want a cocktail that you’ve had in our bar before but can no longer see it, well then you probably haven’t seen our ‘Gone but not forgotten’ menu hung up on the wall! We always try to be unique in what we create and the most fun we have is meeting brand reps and tasting their products to incorporate into our colourful, tasty menu. Don’t be put off if you want to stick with what you know - we do a killer ‘Passionfruit Martini’ which is always a safe bet, and like any good cocktail bar we can do all the classics on request, or even personalised cocktails for those who know exactly what they want in their drink and however they want it If you want a hands-on experience of cocktail making, then why not book a cocktail masterclass with one of our award-winning mixologists? Whether you want an educational masterclass or just a fun easy going one, we can accommodate all preferences. We have two options:
 Banoffee Pie espresso martini Over the past two years we have begun to leave our mark on Edinburgh’s cocktail scene at events like Cocktails in the City and Edinburgh Cocktail Week. These events have been great for us for many reasons. The obvious one being that we get to introduce ourselves to people who may not have even heard of us or been to our bar. In 2019 we teamed up with Eden Mill for Edinburgh Cocktail Week where we worked together to create a unique menu which we served up at the cocktail village. We also had our cocktail of the month on at the bar, which was an Eden Mill twist on a bramble! Earlier in 2019 was our first time at Cocktails in the City hosted at The Hub on the Royal Mile. This event had a bit of a competitive twist, where customers would rate each bar’s cocktails and it’s safe to say our 'Monkey Jam' went down a treat! Served straight in a coupe, it was made up of Monkey Shoulder blended Scotch, discarded sweet cascara vermouth, honey, blackberry jam, apple and lemon all shaken up. We then whipped up a foam which we layered on top of the cocktail. The latter was made by adding pineapple juice, lemon, sugar and egg white into a whipped cream dispenser, which gave it a lovely fluffy texture. We can’t wait to get back involved with events like these post-Covid.  Our Basement bar is a fantastic space for hosting birthday parties, team building workshops, work nights, charity quizzes and many more events for up to 60 people. The demand is high for this space with Fridays and Saturdays usually booked months in advance. You will have your own bartender and the option to play your own music should you wish. On top of that we can provide a buffet from an external caterer or you can bring your own food if preferred. The whole month of August the space is used for the Edinburgh Fringe. In previous years we have hosted everything from comedy shows to Burlesque which is easily the most popular show each year, with queues halfway down Lothian Road. Unfortunately, not everyone can get in, so arrive well in advance if you want to let these awesome Berliners amaze you!  The Melon Man... bottled! In 2020, hospitality took a huge hit due to Covid-19. Like all bars and restaurants, we had to adapt and adapt we did. The obvious thing for us to do was to create cocktails that can be bottled and don’t need to be consumed straight away, and because our espresso martinis are our signature drinks, then our biggest challenge was giving these drinks a good shelf life, and to be able to be consumed weeks later at the same quality as when they were made. This would mean people can put the drinks into their home fridge and consume when they wanted. We first did some research on adding preservatives like sodium benzoate, but we quickly realised that we aren’t chemists and that wasn’t the route to go down. After weeks of more research, we came across Absolute Roasters who are a cold brew and speciality coffee company based in Glasgow. These guys pasteurise their cold brew in various size kegs, which gives it a longer lasting shelf life, exactly what we were looking for! This solved all our problems and meant we could bottle our espresso martinis for takeaway and deliveries, and also send them in the post to our followers in other parts of the UK. Along with our espresso martinis, we have another eight non-espresso cocktails, which all have shelf lives of up to four weeks. From our bold and smokey ‘Auld Riqui’ to our sweet and fruity ‘Flower Power’ there’s a cocktail for everyone, all available from our online shop.  Online cocktail masterclass Our online cocktail masterclasses have been another source of income for us whilst our doors have been closed. Doing masterclasses in the bar comes naturally, but to do them over Zoom was new to us all.
Like everyone in 2020 our team adapted, and we decided to offer various packages, which included making classic, gin, rum, whisky and vodka cocktails at home. To make these classes the best they can be we send out a little cocktail kit to participants. These include a cocktail Boston tin and glass, measuring jigger, hawthorn strainer and fine strainer. We also send 25ml bottles of spirits, liqueurs and syrups to cover the three cocktails they would be making. These classes have been a breath of fresh air for us as it’s been great to re-engage with people and it brought back the sense of providing hospitality again, even if it is in a different way! Comments are closed.
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