Blue Blazer – Gimme shelter
Another solid entry to the Edinburgh pub scene.
A Blue Blazer, I read online, is a cocktail made of Scotch, sugar and boiling water. Here are the instructions: Heat a metal tankard, then add the scotch mixture.
Set alight.
Grab a second tankard – also heated up – and start pouring the flaming whisky from one to the the other. You’re after a solid line of blue flame as you pour back and forth. Extra points for theatricality, moving the tankards further away from one another and, frankly, not setting yourself on fire.
But I could really have done with a Blue Blazer – out of cold rather than thirst – as I fought the strong winds and rain in Tollcross one Sunday night. I made do with the pub of the same name, which offered welcome respite from the storm.
A few months ago, I reviewed The Blue Blazer’s sister pub on the other side of town, The Windsor. I found myself taking it for granted. It’s a great pub with a reliable pint, solid decor and with a diverse crowd. Both pubs hit many of the same notes.
There’s the same pleasant jingly-jangly indie playlist. There are the same posters, advertising local events. And while the Blue Blazer is smaller, both pubs are designed to give you a variety of seating options, from small tables in the front, a raised stage area, barrels to perch next to and banquette seating.
The bar has a decent selection of beer. The cask’s acceptable, but a little inconsistent. The Newbarns stout I chose recently – outstanding at the brewery – was fairly average. A smoked stout on keg held up rather better. But other times I have been have yielded better cask.
The whisky gantry looks nice and full, as it should be given the hundreds of empty whisky boxes which decorate the back room’s mantelpiece, windowsills and walls.
At each of my three visits, the pub’s had a pleasantly buzzy atmosphere. Everyone just seems happy to be there. And that includes the staff, which can really make a difference. One Sunday night was memorable for how well a member of the bar staff dealt with a lecherous drunk (she kicked him out). I don’t think that’s a regular occurrence, though. On a recent Friday night the place was full with people playing cards or board games. It was all good, clean fun.
The Blue Blazer gets a lot of things right. It’s worth popping in if you are in the area. It welcomed me on a stormy night. But maybe I’m falling into the same trap as I did with its sister The Windsor – I’m taking it for granted. It does a lot of the basics well. I’d miss it if it were gone.
Despite its fairly old school appearance, The Blue Blazer was actually retrofitted in the 90s and made to look historic. The man responsible, Ian Whyte, also did up a number of other pubs in Edinburgh, including The Bow Bar and The Cumberland Bar (I’ve reviewed – and enjoyed – both). If anyone has any more information on Ian Whyte I would greatly appreciate it.
Leave a comment or email edinburghpubreviews@substack.com.
The chaser
Life isn’t to be skipped over or crammed with distraction. I love the pub for this very reason. It is a place to be.
The FT’s Rebecca Watson wrote a lovely ode to the pub last week. In the process, she basically described my Moon Under Water: “This pub has everything I could want from a drinking hole: a plentiful selection of well-kept real ale, a dartboard, decent music played at the right volume and a beautiful, preserved interior.”
Where is it?
Where next?
Less than ten minutes’ walk, on the other side of Grassmarket, is the aforementioned Bow Bar.
Or, even closer is another of The Blue Blazer’s sister pubs (along with The Windsor and The Kidlerkin): Bennetts Bar.
I always enjoy a visit but blimey £6 a pint. No wonder there are no other OAPs there!