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The pub’s story
Heads & Tales is a modern West End cocktail bar, reached down stairs and behind a discreet door, not an inherited speakeasy or ancient gin cellar. It sits beneath the wider Category A-listed Rutland Hotel block, which HES dates to circa 1835. HES records 1913 ground-floor alterations incorporating a billiard room, but does not locate that room within today’s bar. Contemporary trade reporting says the basement had previously been a nightclub and stood empty for two years before Heads & Tales opened on 11 June 2014. The conversion reused an existing bar and hardwood. Its genuine distilling chapter began at opening: visitors could see Edinburgh Gin’s Flora and Caledonia working behind glass. The Gin Guild identifies them as 150-litre stills and says Rutland production later shifted to Leith before the site’s closure ahead of The Arches. In November 2024, The Spirits Business described The Arches as Edinburgh Gin’s sole production site. Heads & Tales remains a basement cocktail bar; the official site currently directs visitors to 1A Rutland Street.
What to notice
- 01
Circa 1835, 1913 and the Category A designation belong to the wider Rutland Hotel block; HES does not place the 1913 billiard room in the exact current bar footprint.
- 02
The discreet basement entrance is modern character, not proof of a historical speakeasy or ancient gin cellar; Heads & Tales opened on 11 June 2014.
- 03
Edinburgh Gin no longer produces here: The Arches became its sole production site in December 2024. Current address, phone and hours were checked 12 August 2026.
The time rail
The building, the pub and its interior may date from different periods. The timeline keeps documented dates separate from tradition.
HES dates the wider Rutland Hotel corner block to circa 1835.
HES records ground-floor alterations by Bailey Murphy incorporating a billiard room somewhere in the wider property.
The wider Rutland Hotel block was designated Category A as LB29685.
The Caterer records the opening of Heads & Tales; Flora and Caledonia were operating behind glass during the launch period.
Time Out documented an Edinburgh Gin micro-distillery operating within the basement bar.
The Gin Guild records that Rutland production shifted to Leith and the production site later closed ahead of The Arches.
The Spirits Business reported The Arches' opening date and described it as Edinburgh Gin's sole production site.
Sources & confidence
Nine sources separate the wider property, modern bar and distilling phases. HES controls the circa-1835 block, 1913 property-level billiard-room alteration and Category A designation, but does not map that room to today's basement bar. Contemporary Restaurant Online and Caterer records date Heads & Tales to June 2014, describe the former nightclub and document Flora and Caledonia working behind glass. The Gin Guild identifies the 150-litre stills and later production shift and closure; The Spirits Business establishes The Arches as Edinburgh Gin's sole production site in December 2024. The discreet entrance is current atmosphere, not historical clandestine use. The coordinate pair is the Rutland Hotel's broader-block locator rather than a surveyed doorway. Current details were checked on the official venue site on 12 August 2026.
Research reviewed
- 1 RUTLAND PLACE, AND 1 AND 3 RUTLAND STREET, RUTLAND HOTEL AND BAR, INCLUDING RAILINGS AND LAMP STANDARD (LB29685)Historic Environment Scotlandheritage
SupportsStatutory Category A identity and 14 December 1970 listing date for the wider Rutland Hotel block; circa-1835 construction; New Town group context; and 1913 ground-floor alterations by Bailey Murphy incorporating a billiard room. It does not locate that billiard room in the exact present Heads & Tales footprint.
- Heads & Tales Bar Edinburgh | Gin Bar & Cocktails in the West EndHeads & Talesofficial
SupportsCurrent first-party Heads & Tales identity, cocktail-bar operation, official HTTPS website, discreet down-stairs entrance, 1a Rutland Street address, EH1 2AD postcode, 0131 656 2811 telephone and current booking or walk-in information. Mutable details were checked 12 August 2026.
- Heads and Tales Edinburgh Opening Hours | Plan Your VisitHeads & Talesofficial
SupportsCurrent first-party opening times: Monday closed; Tuesday-Thursday 5pm-1am; Friday-Saturday 5pm-3am; Sunday 5pm-1am. It repeats the 1a Rutland Street address, EH1 2AD postcode, 0131 656 2811 telephone and access directions. Checked 12 August 2026.
- Heads and Tales bar opens in Edinburgh’s Rutland hotelRestaurant Onlinespecialist
SupportsContemporary 16 June 2014 trade report that the new basement bar had opened; its former nightclub and two-year vacancy; 70-seat conversion; reuse of the existing bar and hardwood; and Flora and Caledonia working behind glass. It reports operator testimony rather than archival property history.
- Openings: Heads and TalesThe Catererspecialist
SupportsContemporary opening record giving 11 June 2014 as the opening date, Bruce Hamilton as manager and owner, a capacity of 70, the then-published 1a Rutland Place address and the Heads & Tales website. It supports the modern business opening, not older basement use.
- Finlay Nicol, Edinburgh GinThe Gin Guildspecialist
SupportsSpecialist distilling account that Edinburgh Gin began its distillery development with two 150-litre stills, Flora and Caledonia, at Rutland Place; later shifted production to Leith; retained mostly experimental and small-batch work at Rutland; and closed that production site before the move to The Arches.
- Edinburgh Gin to open new distilleryThe Spirits Businessspecialist
SupportsDated 25 November 2024 trade report that Edinburgh Gin Distillery at The Arches would open on 6 December 2024 and be the brand's sole production site. This controls the end-state wording; it does not say Heads & Tales closed as a bar.
- Heads & Tales | Bars and pubs in EdinburghTime Outeditorial
SupportsDated 15 June 2016 review describing Heads & Tales as a 2014 basement-bar debut with a then-operating Edinburgh Gin micro-distillery and contemporary steampunk-style decor. It documents the 2016 visitor experience, not ancient cellar history.
- Find Us - The Rutland HotelThe Rutland Hotelofficial
SupportsCurrent official locator for the broader Rutland Hotel block, publishing GPS coordinates 55.94939, -3.20745 and identifying 1-3 Rutland Street at Edinburgh's West End. The coordinates locate the wider property, not a surveyed Heads & Tales doorway.
