Cocktail stories: Get The Worm, Fura
Singapore’s Fura grubs up interesting ingredient for its innovative cocktail, called Get The Worm.
*This feature was originally published in the February 2025 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
The co-founders of Fura in Singapore, Sasha Wijidessa and Christina Rasmussen, aim to make every drink on their menu ingredient-driven, with perhaps none more so than Get The Worm, which contains – you guessed it – worms.
The mealworm larvae used in the drink contain around 45g of protein per 100g, while chicken has around 30g. Nutrition aside, Wijidessa explains: “We wanted to highlight mealworms as a future food ingredient. They are a highly sustainable food source, as they require less land, water, and feed compared with traditional livestock.”
The duo drew inspiration from sal de gusano – worm salt – which is traditionally paired with mezcal. To make the ingredient more approachable, Wijidessa anchored the drink in familiarity by riffing on a Margarita: “I’ve always tied novel ingredients to a known classic.”
Getting the cocktail on the menu was no easy feat. “We had a lot of trouble because of delays with the government approving insects for use in food and drinks,” Wijidessa explains. The bar team were invited to the Singapore Food Agency headquarters, but it took a year for import licences to be approved.
How do guests feel about drinking worms? Good, according to Wijidessa. “Like all of our novel ingredients, we want to be a gateway for guests to have a more comfortable, positive and tasty experience with something quite new to the palate. We believe with a really great first impression, guests will be more open and likely to try insects more frequently.”
Get The Worm
Green Taco Mix ingredients
100g Cumin powder
150g Green chilli powder
75g Garlic powder
150g Onion powder
50g Spring onion powder
150g Salt
50g Oregano
25g Coriander powder
20g Nutritional yeast
200g Jalapeño chilli powder
Method: Combine ingredients and mix well.
Mealworm Cream ingredients
90g Mealworm
15g Green taco mix
50g Vegetable oil
50g Vegan butter
50g Soft brown sugar
7.5g Salt
300g Vegan cream
Method: Sauté the mealworm and green taco mix in oil. Add butter and brown. Add sugar and salt, then cook until the sugar has slightly caramelised. Add the cream and blend with a hand blender.
Mealworm Infusion ingredients
1 litre Altos Plata Tequila
400g Mealworm cream
Method: Combine the ingredients in a vacuum bag and sous vide at 60°C overnight. Once infused, chill in the freezer until the fat solidifies. Strain through muslin.
Green Syrup ingredients
50g Coriander (leaf only)
200g Green chilli (stems off)
400ml Lime oleo
600ml Sugar syrup (1:1)
Method: Combine all ingredients in a jug, and blitz with a hand blender. Leave to macerate overnight in the fridge. Strain through a chinois and cloth.
For each serve:
45ml Mealworm infusion
15ml Green syrup
10ml Lime juice
Method: Combine in a shaker and shake well. Double strain into an Old Fashioned glass with block ice.
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