Beetle Juice anyone?

Miss-Eager-Beaver (that's me for those who don't know) decided on Valentines day to be adventurous and order us a round of the famous Bellinis Cocktail - at Bellinis in Illovo of course.

For those who don't know, the Bellinis Cocktail is a long drink cocktail that originated in Venice. It is a mixture of sparkling wine and peach purée often served at celebrations. It is one of Italy's most popular cocktails.

What most of us DON'T know - including myself - was that the Belllinis Cocktail have a coloring ingredient called Carmine in it.

So being the researcher I can be, I immediately Googled "Carmine" and this is what was discovered:

Carmine is used as a food dye in many different products such as juices, ice cream, yogurt, and candy etc. But the best of it all - Carmine is prepared by boiling dried insects in water!

So you can imagine the shock when I realized the famous new cocktail we were trying out on our romantic Valentines date was in fact - Beetle Juice!

PS> Food products containing carmine-based food dye may prove to be a concern for people who are allergic to carmine, or people who choose not to consume any or certain animals, such as vegetarians, vegans, and followers of religions with dietary law (e.g. kashrut in Judaism and halaal in Islam).