BACK BY popular demand, the House of Suntory Japanese Garden has returned to Edinburgh’s Tigerlily, featuring Roku gin, Haku Vodka and Toki Whisky
This ‘cherry-blossom filled wonderland’ will run until mid-June, offering guests a fresh, flower filled and decadent space to sip on limited edition cocktails from a menu featuring three of House of Suntory’s most popular spirits.
Guests will be greeted by a burst of pink blooms welcoming them into the George Street venue, before discovering a unique Instagram-worthy backdrop complete with a gold shimmering sun, blossom tree and hanging Japanese paper lanterns.
Entering the garden itself, a canopy of cherry blossoms draped from the centre of the room is revealed with soft lantern lighting that creates an intimate space where guests can feel ‘cocooned in a dreamlike world’.
This large-scale installation was created by Edinburgh based Wild Flowers, and contains no less that 3500 cherry blossom stems. Creative Director Jenny Watson said: “It’s not easy installing this many stems but the results are worth it and definitely mark the beginning of Spring!”
The limited edition cocktail menu has evolved since last year’s Roku Gin focused selection of tipples, to include Haku Vodka and Toki Whisky based drinks to suit a variety of preferences.
Using twists on Japanese-inspired tasting notes, the menu includes the ‘Kanji Colada’, a ‘juicy, playful whisky Colada’ with Toki Whisky, white peach, passionfruit, strawberry, coconut and garnished with an icing sugar dusted physalis and a theatrical firework cocktail stick; and the ‘Dragon’s Tail’, ‘a fresh and vibrant mojito twist’ with Roku Gin, Velvet Falernum, passionfruit, peppermint, pressed lemon and garnished with a bamboo leaf ‘dragon tail’.
Their hero cocktail, the ‘Rising Sun’, champions Haku Vodka in a creamy, citrus forward drink. Inspired by a Japanese lemon posset pudding, using yuzu sake, pressed lemon and Jersey Cream, the result is sharp and juicy with a rich, velvety finish.
Lindsay Blair from Edrington commented: “We are delighted to be working with Tigerlily on the second year running and see how they bring the brand to life within the space as part of this fantastic collaboration.”
Tigerlily General Manager Luke Trodden added: “We can’t wait for our customers to experience the new House of Suntory Japanese Garden. Wild have really upped the game with this installation and since our renovation, we’ve had a big focus on offering our customers an elevated, fun and experiential visit and the garden adds another layer to this.”