Gin distilled with ants now available to buy

Anty Gin, the gin distilled with red wood ants, is now commercially available to buy in the UK.

Each bottle of Anty Gin contains around 62 red wood ants

The result of a joint venture between bespoke gin distillery Cambridge Distillery and Nordic Food Lab, Anty is a 40% abv gin containing the essence of approximately 62 wood ants.

Also known as Formica rufa, the red wood ant is found in large colonies all around the northern hemisphere. The ants defend their homes from invaders by producing formic acid in their abdomens which is sprayed at their enemies.

The formic acid, a carboxylic acid, as a reactive compound found in alcohol that acts as an agent for producing aromatic esters.

The Formica rufa used in Anty gin have been cultivated by a team of wild plant specialists from the forests of Kent, England.

The ants are combined with other spring time botanicals including wood avens, nettle and alexanders seed, as well as Bulgarian juniper.

Cambridge Distillery has created 99 bottles of its first commercial batch of Anty Gin, which will retail at £200 (€250) per bottle. Each unit will come with a 50ml miniature of wood ant distillate.