NEW MERCHANT CITY BAR EARNS BAR AWARD NOMINATION
A newly opened establishment located in Merchant City has earned a nomination for ‘Best Bar’ at the Glasgow Bar Awards.
Announced last week on The Glasgow Bartenders Ball official Instagram page, Vodka Wodka Merchant Square is on the list of finalists for ‘Best Bar’ at the 2025 awards, despite only being open for just under five months.
Vodka Wodka, the popular Ashton Lane bar, opened a second location in Merchant City in September last year and already appears to be matching the success of its West End counterpart by securing the prestigious nomination.
Jamie Schuler, General Manager of Vodka Wodka Merchant Square admitted, “I didn’t see that coming, especially the contenders as well, very high-class bars and our wee bar at the bottom of it…you see that list and are like why is Vodka Wodka there?”.
He added; “It’s nice to have something that shows we’re doing something right at least and that people are acknowledging us and see us in the city because the city is full of so many good bars”.
Explaining the bar’s nomination, Schuler suggests, “A lot of bars focus on complexity of cocktails and being the cool next top 50 bar. We’re not doing that here. We’re just focusing on vibe and good service and being a place that everyone can come in.”
Schuler, along with his “second to none” bar staff, had the tough job of trying to replicate the iconic West End bar but quickly realised to be successful they had to form their own identity.
He said “I think coming into it we wanted to be Ashton Lane…but we learnt really quickly that we were never going to be it. This is not the West End, this is not Ashton Lane, the clientele is so much different.”
Schuler thinks that if Vodka Wodka were to win the Best Bar award, it would set a precedent that bars do not need be about high-class and fancy cocktails but instead about “good service and good times”.
“It would show that you don’t have to be a top 50 bar, high-class cocktails. You just have to be fun and accessible and interesting to the Glasgow public” Schuler added.
Vodka Wodka Merchant Square is nominated alongside bars such as Devil of Brooklyn and Tabac. The winner will be announced at the Glasgow Bartenders Ball on the 17th of February.
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