[ruby_title]Vanilla pod straws at Operation Dagger, Singapore[/ruby_title]
Used exclusively for their Fallen Fruit cocktail at Operation Dagger, bar owner Luke Whearty devised this straw as a way to close the loop on the ingredients that go into a pear-shaped vessel with curry leaf, verjuice, caramel and poached pear. Unlike the other rather unobtrusive entries on this list, one benefit of these straws, says Whearty, is that “it adds a really smooth vanilla flavour and fragrance” to each sip, and doubles up on presentation to serve as a natural-looking stem for the drink. “It’s great to be conscious about the environment and employ sustainable practices, but it’s always an extra added bonus when it contributes to a better flavour or aroma,” says Whearty.
To make them, the team puffs up the flattened vanilla pods after their seeds are carefully scraped out, then dries them out in a dehydrator. “Occasionally, you’ll get a customer that calls you over because their vanilla straw isn’t working very well, but that’s the nature of it – they aren’t plastic and manufactured, so they aren’t all going to be identical and perfect,” says Whearty. “But I kind of like that. Anything made by hand has more soul than mass produced in my opinion.”
