Gin von roten Waldameisen

Was Red Bull-Vodka in der Dorfdisco ist der Gin Tonic in den Großstädten. Gin ist „hip“ und „trendy“ und all die damit verbundenen, anderen Adjektive. Zu dem schmeckt Gin Tonic aber auch noch und macht zumindest mir keine Magenkrämpfe, was bei Taurin-haltigen Getränken immer der Fall ist.

Klar, dass Firmen mit diesem Trend gehen und sich in neue Entwicklungen stürzen. So wie Cambridge Distillery, die in Kooperation mit Nordic Food Lab einen Gin kreiert haben, der die Essenzen von Waldameisen enthält: Anty Gin. Die Flasche für £200 GBP. Prost!

„Formica rufa, the red wood ant, are found in forests around the Northern Hemisphere, and are inspiringly sophisticated creatures. They communicate using a host of chemical pheromones, which allow them to form immense colonies housed in large mounds, and they defend their complex communities by producing formic acid in their abdomens and spraying it in the direction of any invader. Luckily for us, these very compounds hold great delicious potential. Formic acid (the simplest organic carboxylic acid, with the chemical formula HCOOH) is a very reactive compound in alcohol, serving as an agent for producing various aromatic esters. Furthermore, many of their chemical pheromones are the same volatile molecules, which we perceive as aroma….

Over six thousand Formica rufa have been foraged and preserved by Forager, a team of wild plant specialists led by Miles Irving in the forests of Kent, UK. Each bottle of Anty Gin will contain the essence of approximately sixty-two wood ants. To support the distinctive flavour of the wood ant distillate and the characteristics of Bulgarian juniper berries, we have selected a handful of prime-quality, wild springtime botanicals to add complexity to the final blend: wood avens (Geum urbanum), nettle (Urtica dioica), and alexanders seed (Smyrnium olusatrum).“

(via BoinBoing)