Buggy beverages - Isaan dream, health concern or mixologist magic
PHUKET: If I found a bamboo grub in my tom yum rum and coke, I would either assume the health office hadn't been through that particular bar in Phuket in a long time, or my bartender was adding some Isaan flare to an already Thai-style cocktail.
As it turns out – health code concerns aside – it might just mean that the mixologist behind the counter is living life on the edge of the boozing world.
Enter World Class UK Bartender Of The Year 2015 and Bar Manager of Hawksmoor Spitalfields Ali Reynolds, who is serving up ‘Anty-Figmatic’ at bartending competitions. The drink itself is vodka based with Cacao Blanc, a pinch of citric acid and 10ml of ants, infused with fig leaf syrup.
“I very much wanted to find an alternative source for acidity in drinks instead of using the classic lemon and lime,” Mr Reynolds explains to the Telegraph. “The formic acid in the ants provided a wonderful sour and bitter orange flavor. As a whole they open consumers’ minds to the fact that we can get very interesting flavors from more than just fruits, herbs and spices.”
- See more at: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-dining/Food-Buggy-beverages-Isaan-dream-health-concern/61568#sthash.CuGnymFa.dpuf
