Tigerlily keeps Belvedere’s organic infusions fresh

Cocktails designed by Tigerlily are being served on its new Belvedere Organic Infusions terrace in Edinburgh, as Peter Ranscombe finds out.

WILL Edinburgh’s George Street finally be pedestrianised?

After years of talk, it looks like the New Town thoroughfare may finally be turned into a European-style boulevard if the city council’s proposals go ahead.

Sitting in the newly-opened Belvedere Organic Infusions terrace outside Tigerlily last night, there was definitely a continental feeling to George Street.

The bar has teamed up with Moet Hennessy – the owner of brands including Belvedere vodka, Ardbeg and Glenmorangie Scotch whisky, and Moet & Chandon Champagne – to create the pop-up terrace for the summer.

Alongside the floral decorations and outdoor covered seating, Tigerlily’s Joey Medrington has created a series of cocktails that use the three flavours in Belvedere’s new Organic Infusions range.

After tasting the vodkas back in May, it was really interesting to see what Medrington did with the spirits.

His most impressive trick was to mix the vodkas with ingredients that provided complementary flavours without masking the tastes built-in to the spirits.

As well as three cocktails priced at £9 each, Medrington’s Tigerlily menu includes three simpler drinks at £8.75 each.

One pairs the lemon and basil vodka with London Essence’s peach and jasmine-flavoured soda water, while the second matches the blackberry and lemongrass variant to Fever Tree tonic.

The line-up is completed with the pear and ginger vodka combined with Fever Tree’s ginger ale.

What do Tigerlily’s Belvedere cocktails taste like?

Belvedere Organics Lemon & Basil with London Essence Peach & Jasmine (£8.75)
A really refreshing hit of lemon is balanced by the metallic tang of the peach-flavoured soda water, which also delivers a riper sweetness for balance. Served in a tall glass.

Wild Berry Spritz (£9)
Combining Belvedere Organics Blackberry & Lemongrass with sauvignon blanc white wine and bramble liqueur delivers tonnes of dark fruit flavours, with a rounded texture. What’s most impressive is that some of the elderflower notes from the sauvignon blanc still make it through too.

Orchard Blossom Fix (£9)
A really interesting mix of Belvedere Organics Pear & Ginger with Bittered Sling’s Lem-Marrakech bitters, plus lychee and soda. The result is a very, very savoury twang, which I think will appeal to negorni fans.

Solstice Smash (£9)
The wild card in the pack – bringing together Belvedere Organics Lemon & Basil with summer berries, tonka beans, basil, and the intense sweetness of Velvet Falernum cane sugar liqueur recreates the taste of childhood boiled sweets in a coupe. Weird, but it works.

Read more of Peter’s spirits, beer, and wine reviews on his blog, The Grape & The Grain