(Roughly) Daily

“It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend, one’s present or future thirst, the excellence of the wine, or any other reason.”
– Latin proverb

The BBC reports:

At high-end bars in the United States and United Kingdom, bartenders are crafting cocktails with ingredients like crickets, tarantulas, scorpions and even giant ants.

The Artesian bar at the Langham hotel in London has been serving up their Langham Tea Punch for just over a year. The ingredients include Courvoisier cognac, Japanese sencha tea and an oven-baked tarantula and scorpion [pictured above]. Just last month, the bar upped the ante by introducing their Vieux Carre cocktail, which pairs cognac and rye whiskey with a side of toasted Colombian giant ants and Mopani worms. Both cocktails cost £16.50

“The drinks are a great talking point since insects aren’t a typical source of nutrition in the UK,” said Artesian head barman Alex Kratena, who noted the cocktails are usually ordered in groups. “Some insects get toasted, which brings the drink extra flavour and some are used for decorative purposes. Most are rather tasty!”

Stateside, White and Church in New York City serves up a trio of insect cocktails, including a cinnamon-flavoured rum paired with honeybees, a margarita-like drink with Mexican spicy worms, and a Batida de Cocco drink with heavy cream and dried grasshoppers. The drinks ring up at $13 each.

Brave enough to drink up and chow down?  A single bug can provide 10 to 20 grams of protein, offering a nice nutritional boost in addition to the more usual buzz.

*Homer Simpson

As we order a round for the house, we might send reverent birthday wishes to athlete and evangelist William Ashley “Billy” Sunday; he was born on this date in 1862.  After a successful career as an outfielder with the Chicago White Stockings, then the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday hit the “kerosene circuit” as a preacher, ultimately becoming the most celebrated and influential American evangelist of the first two decades of the 20th century (e.g., playing a significant role in the passage of the 18th Amendment– Prohibition).  Historians estimate that, over the course of his pre-broadcast-era career, Sunday preached face-to-face to more than one hundred million people–  to the great majority, without electronic amplification.

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