When it comes to alcoholic tipples, there are a clutch of descriptive words most of us reach for, but unless you work in the industry, ‘lactic’ likely isn’t one of them. These days, however, it’s popping up more, so what does it mean? According to Lyaness and Seed Library founder Ryan Chetiyawardana (AKA Mr Lyan), ‘Usually people think of the different aspects associated with lactose or lactic acid — commonly found in dairy products — mean creaminess or a soft sweetness, but it also includes wine applications, beer and foods that give a creamy tang and a different acidity and sweetness to what’s expected.’
Chetiyawardana says the reason we are hearing it now is because it’s been featuring in many more drinks. ‘Historically it would be found in fermented products, but the role of the sugar — or lactose — and lactic acid has been a favourite of ours in cocktails for some time. We’ve used it via lactic fermentations from everything from fruit, veg, herbs, spices, to insects and flowers to change the creation of flavours, but we also will use it to balance a different acidity journey or a different finish to a drink. With the expansion of products that use this sort of composition, there’s also scope to make more drinks with a lactic style.’ His favourites? ‘I love it when it’s unexpected. As people associate it with dairy products, when it crops up in something completely unrelated to this, a Martini or a champagne cocktail, for example, then it works in a very different way.’
