Duck & Waffle launches cocktails made with ants and banana skins

Rich Woods, Duck & Waffle’s head of cocktail development, has released a daring new list at the London restaurant featuring ants, banana skins and burnt toast.

Split it two, Woods’ Urban Foraging vs. Urban Decay menu features ingredients foraged from London’s urban jungle, such as tree bark and cut grass, alongside food we would usually throw away, like tomato stalks and avocado skins.

The 15-strong cocktail list launched at Duck & Waffle in the Heron Tower last week and will run throughout the summer.

Rich Woods. Photo credit: Robert Hollingworth

“The menu explores two sides of modern life and the impact of flavour captured from ingredients that have been foraged from within our city, or those we consider to be discarded by-products of our everyday lives.

“We make so many conscious decisions in our everyday lives, but a lot of our actions are taken upon with little thought or consideration for what is around us,” explained Woods.

“How often do we really see what is around us? Can you truly say that you notice nature on your morning walk to work, or are you more focused just getting there?

“Do you think about what you throw away every day and whether you could have done more with it or do you discard without any conscious consideration? The inspiration was simple: to make you think and be a conscious drinker,” he added.

The Urban Decay side of the menu adopts the idea of ‘closed loop’ cocktails, championed by Dandelyan’s Ryan Chetiyawardana, that upcycle ingredients bartenders would traditionally bin, reducing waste in the process.

“Being able to control every element in your drink like a chef does with a dish is crucial. It’s not just about throwing liquid in to a glass, it’s conscience drinking, from nurturing the of growth of roots and shoots to lowering waste by harnessing flavour in produce that society tells us is past its best,” Woods told db.

One of the biggest challenges of the menu was being able to forage sufficient quantities of certain ingredients to be able to use them on the menu.

However, working in a 24-hour restaurant proved beneficial for the urban decay side of the list, giving Woods access to bountiful supplies of burnt toast, avocado skins and coffee grinds.

Click through for photos and recipes of highlights from the new cocktail menu.

Strawberries & Cream

Removed Pimm’s, split cream vodka, strawberry leaf dry vermouth

Pollen

Dill fino, pollen, Prosecco

Woodland Negroni 

‘Damp’ gin, woodland Campari, moss vermouth, wood ant bitters

Pine Needle Lemonade 

Hendricks Gin, pine, verjus, wild elderflower, lightly carbonated

Hay!

Jack Daniel’s, maple, salted caramel, hay infusion

Hopped Scotch 

Hopped Dewar’s whisky, IPA cordial, hay & hopped grapefruit soda

Banana Split 

Cana Brava rum, toasted coconut husk, banana skin cordial, sour milk

Clarified ‘Green’ Bloody Mary

Tomato leaf vodka, ‘green’ gin, soil, Bloody Mary consommé

Breakfast with Hemingway

Bacardi Carta Blanca, citrus blush, Maraschino liqueur, burnt toast

Avocado Apéritivo 

Avocado skin Tequila, chocolate apéritivo, toasted walnut amaro

Green G&T

Tomato stalk gin, tonic

Daily Grind 

Soured vodka, spent coffee grinds, lemon leaf apéritif, stone fruit liqueur

Meadow Spritz 

‘Spring’ gin, cut grass & asparagus tip cordial, wild elderflower, citrus, lightly carbonated