The New Viral Summer Drink Has A Cicada In It
You know what a cicada is, right? They’re those things that scream on all of our trees all summer long. I don’t know about you, but thankfully I haven’t heard any on my side of town yet, I live in Summerlin, near the Red Rock Casino. However, we know it’s coming. Sooner, rather than later, those annoying insects are going to be all we hear whenever we’re outside.
As annoying as cicadas are, they are an interesting bug. Cicadas can have a lifespan between 2 to 17 years! Most of that, being underground. Female cicadas can lay up to 400 eggs within their lifetime, and when the babies hatch, they immediately burrow near a tree’s roots and survive off the tree’s sap. Thankfully, their bark is much worse than their bite. Cicadas just make noise to attract mates, they’re incapable of attacking humans. But apparently, they’re pretty tasty too!
A Bar Is Going Viral For Serving A Cicada Shot
I don’t know about this one, guys. I’ve tried, and consumed, some really weird things in my 40 years of life. I’ve done the scorpion shot at Nacho Daddy. A few times, actually, even with some country singers who’ve been in town. I’ve tasted the baked “chapulines,” otherwise known as crickets, at a couple Mexican restaurants around town. I’ve even eaten “Rocky Mountain Oysters” once. If you know, you know. But I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around a new cicada shot that’s going viral today, and I’m wondering if it’ll eventually make its way to Las Vegas too.
The shot comes from a bar in Chicago called “Noon Whistle Brewing.” They’ve introduced what they’re calling “cicada-infused” shots of the infamous Malört liquer. Malört is known for its bitter citrus profile and the bar says the addition of the bug takes the drink to an entirely new level. Here’s a photo.
Noon Whistle Brewing creates the drink by adding a handful of dead cicadas into a bottle of Malört. When a shot is ordered at the bar, another dead cicada is dropped into the glass. Kinda reminiscent to how Nacho Daddy does their scorpion shots.
Bold Claims About The Flavor Of A Cicada
Now here’s where my trust issues start to come out. According to the bar, the taste of a cicada is eerily close to that of a “succulent lobster,” they say. The shots are affordable too, they’re priced at just 5 dollars.
If you’re an adventurous DIY type of person, I would say this would be an easy drink to replicate at home, but bottles of Malört aren’t that easy to find outside of Chicago. So, it might actually be easier to book a flight to the windy city.