Whenever I tell people that I love making cocktails from Ark of Taste ingredients, I'm inevitably met with a lot of blank stares. I get it, though, because Ark of Taste is almost as unheard of as the products it lists. Today, we are going to change that.

What is Ark of Taste?

“The Ark of Taste is a living catalog of delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction. By identifying and championing these foods we keep them in production and on our plates.”

— Ark of Taste website

How can I learn more?

Watch this awesome video!

Besides being great for biodiversity, how does this apply to mixology?

We all know cocktails are delicious, but they can be even more wonderful when you use ingredients not commonly used in cocktails. Using Ark of Taste products can help expand your palate, introduce you to interesting flavour combinations, and create cocktails that are unique to your region!

Anyone can make a Bloody Mary from canned tomatoes or a mix, but think what that Bloody Mary would taste like if you used fresh Amish Paste tomatoes that you've crushed yourself! You can have a papaya-based drink, or you could branch out and introduce your friends to a drink flavoured with pawpaws, which taste like papayas, but are indigenous to the Midwest and support a local farmer producing them.

A good cocktail tastes great, but a great cocktail also tells a story, supports a farmer, and is uniquely delicious.

The Pawpaw, largest fruit indigenous to North America and an Ark of Taste food!

I'd like to see what Ark of Taste products are in my region. How do I look that up?

You can visit this link here to explore Ark of Taste foods by region, name, and product type!

Great! This list is huge! Where do I begin?

HOLLOW LEG is based in Chicago, so this is what we are immediately inspired by: Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries, Early Blood Turnip-Rooted Beet, Moon & Stars Watermelon, Norton Grape, Pawpaw, Oldmixon Free Peach, Traditional Sorghum Syrup, and the American Persimmon, are all flavours we are experimenting with in cocktails.