You’ve probably ordered bespoke cocktails garnished with raw sugarcane, balsamic cherries, or edible flowers, but have you ever sipped on insects? Mixology den Native is bringing the wild back to Singapore’s cocktail scene.
It’s tough being a bartender in a city ceaselessly looking for the next trend, the next innovation. It takes a real drive to stay ahead of the game. Fortunately, the creative force behind Singapore’s Native cocktail bar, Vijay Mudaliar, has a passion for using craft spirits. local and regional produce, and foraged ingredients in his drinks – and that includes edible Thai weaver ants.
READ: 10 Tips for Hosting an Epic Dinner Party
Mudaliar made his name internationally when he won the 2015 Diplomatico World Tournament Singapore Final with his signature cocktail Jewel of The East but decided to continue his focus on contributing to the local cocktail scene with Native, which is tucked away in a second-floor space on Amoy Street.
Mango, turmeric, starfruit flowers, and tapioca are among the elements incorporated in Native’s drinks menu, but ANTZ is the drink everyone’s talking about. A milky cocktail of Chalong Bay rum, housemade coconut yoghurt, aged sugarcane, salt-baked tapioca and soursop fruit, this unusual libation is served in a ceramic anthill drinking vessel and topped with crunchy Thai ants on a frozen basil leaf.
READ: We Talk with Mixologist John Nuget
The ANTZ isn’t the only cocktail that’s laced with creepy crawlies. The Grasshopper, a drink packed with Thai flavours, features coconut ice cream topping a blend of wheatgrass, lemongrass, sugarcane, Chalong Bay rhum argicole, Thai basil and sous vide grasshoppers.
If you’re feeling less adventurous, opt for the Mango Lassi, a layered drink anchored by a base of beetroot jelly and topped with a spicy cocktail of mango, turmeric, Indian rum and pomegranate molasses that’s finished with pistachio foam.
In fact, there’s innovation at every turn, from lotus root used in lieu of straws to dried lotus leaves used as coasters, while ingredients run the gamut from Indian arrack and plum power to clarified cola, goat’s milk, jackfruit rum and Korean chilli granita.
For more Wining & Dining inspiration click here.