Cricket cocktails

In a bid to mimic the developing world’s taste for insects, several start-ups in the past couple of years have introduced crickets into food products such as protein bars and cricket flour, but Critter Bitters aims to change the way we view cocktails by introducing cricket-based bitters. 

Founders Lucy Knops and Julia Plevin see Critter Bitters as part of a mission to change the perception of insects. ‘Critter Bitters are the gateway to eating insects. More than 2bn people around the world already eat insects regularly. But for those of us who don’t, the idea might be hard to swallow,’ they write on their current Kickstarter page. ‘Instead of adopting other cultures’ traditions of eating insects, Critter Bitters give us the liquid courage we need to spark our own insect-eating traditions.’

The toasted crickets contained in the bitter mixtures are used not only as a sustainable ingredient, but also as an interesting tasting note that is complex, rich and nutty. Four Critter Bitters flavours are available: vanilla, cacao, toasted almond and pure cricket.