The Blue Blazer

Walking into The Blue Blazer, you're stepping into the kind of pub that actually belongs to Edinburgh rather than existing for the tourists. Spittal Street's tucked away enough that you'll find a real mix of regulars nursing their pints alongside folks who've deliberately sought the place out. The whisky selection is genuinely impressive—this isn't just a pub that happens to have bottles on the shelf, it's somewhere people come specifically for the spirit knowledge. The atmosphere strikes that rare balance of being unpretentious whilst clearly giving a damn about what they're pouring. It's the sort of place where you can spend three hours and feel like you've learned something, whether that's about Scottish distilleries or just how to have a proper conversation.