In the past, insects have stormed our kitchens. Now they’re taking over our bars as well
As far as yuck factors go, the famous maggots scene in 80s cult classic The Lost Boys really takes the biscuit. Who in their right mind would munch on maggots, vampire or not? It’s a question I ask myself as I stare down the barrel of The Nightjar’s Inca Cocktail – an Aztec-themed drink served in a skull-shaped mug and garnished with a paper cone stuffed to the brim with buffalo worms. Thankfully, these ones aren’t wriggling.
With the taunts of an albino Kiefer Sutherland ringing in my ears – “You're eating maggots. How do they taste?” – I delve in, pinching a worm by the tail and popping it on the tongue. Unlike in the movie, I don’t spit them out to a chorus of laughter. They actually taste rather good – adding an earthy element to an otherwise sweet drink. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.
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Bugs and booze are by no means a new combo. Since the 1940s, bottles of mezcal have famously included a floating pickled 'maguey worm' (in actual fact, a red and white caterpillar but that doesn’t quite have the same shock appeal); and scorpion vodka is a popular party gift on wacky websites throughout the world.
But now it seems as though we’re moving into refined territory, as mixologists begin to experiment with creepy crawlies.
World Class UK Bartender Of The Year 2015, Ali Reynolds
Ali Reynolds, World Class UK Bartender Of The Year 2015 and Bar Manager of Hawksmoor, Spitalfields is one of the bartenders pushing buggy boundaries. For his second signature drink at Diageo’s trend-setting bartender competition – the industry’s largest and by all accounts most credible bartending competition on the planet – Reynolds served Anty-Figmatic, A Ketel One Vodka based drink with Cacao Blanc, a pinch of citric acid .... and 10ml of ants, infused with fig leaf syrup.
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Reynolds – who will now go on to represent the UK in the World Class Global Final in September in South Africa alongside winners from over 50 countries – says he drew on international modern cuisine for inspiration - in particular, NOMA’s René Redzepi’s use of live ants in one of his dishes. As with many of Redzepi’s head-turning dishes, there is a method behind the madness.
“I very much wanted to find an alternative source for acidity in drinks instead of using the classic lemon and lime,” Reynolds explains. “The formic acid in the ants provided a wonderful sour and bitter orange flavour. As a whole they open consumers’ minds to the fact that we can get very interesting flavours from more than just fruits, herbs and spices.”
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Reynolds isn’t the only one interested in the different and depth of flavour imparted by insects. At El Patron, the Mexican restaurant and bar in Putney, they serve the Señor Basil with Arette Blanco, basil, apple, agave, lime, and tequila-infused worms.
Owner Andrew Taylor tells me that “using insects in a cocktail is a great way to bring new flavours to the drink, stepping a way from the usual summer cocktails that are always made up of the same sweet and fruity recipes and ingredients.” He also says insects add an “element of danger and excitement” which – as a Mexican brand – they were drawn to.
Nightjar’s Inca Cocktail
There is no doubt Mexico is the home of entomophagy: there are between 300 to 550 species of edible insects scurrying beneath bricks as I write, according a 2013 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO). The FAO want to take a leaf out of Mexico’s cookbook and encourage entomophagy throughout the world as a realistic sustainable, ethical and healthy (bugs are high in protein) alternative to traditional livestock. Insects, they say, could be the potential answer to the ever growing issue of food scarcity.
It was that very issue – and document – that inspired New Yorkers’ Julia Plevin and Lucy Knops to create Critter Bitters, cocktail bitters made with roasted crickets. Plevin and Knops came up with the concept whilst studying design together at The School of Visual Arts after they were handed the 2013 UN FAO report and charged with designing a product that overcame the insect “ick” factor.
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“We realized that people are more adventurous with ingredients when it comes to drinking cocktails and we wanted a way to make crickets resonate with the community here in NYC,” Plevin says. “Critter Bitters are a conversation starter to get people talking and thinking about the situation of food in the world as the population grows and our resources dwindle.”
Sourcing organic, non-GMO [genetically modified organism] crickets from a company called Aspire (themselves ambassadors for worldwide entomophagy), the pair create several tinctures from varying ingredients and mix them together to create the bitters.
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“The crickets add a nutty flavor to cocktails,” Plevin explains. “They bring something extra in taste — no other ingredient has the unique flavor profile of cricket.”
So, would the UK’s number one barman use cricket bitters in his drinks? “I would consider using anything in a cocktail.” Reynolds says. What about entomophagy on the whole - will we see more bartenders creating cocktails with insects? “I’d be bugged if we didn’t… Get it?”