Operation Dagger and eco-friendly alcohol: ‘Garden-to-glass’ cocktails

Operation Dagger

Operation Dagger’s famed ‘Egg’ cocktail, which blends salted egg yolk, rum, vanilla and caramel

“The idea of closed loop for me is an ingredient that doesn’t just have a beginning and an end,” said head bartender and owner Luke Whearty, who previously ran a bar in Cape Town called Outrage of Modesty. “If one element of an ingredient is used for a drink, we’ll use a different element for something else, kind of like how a chef works with prime cuts and uses secondary cuts for another dish.”

Take lemons as an example. Bars juice the fruit and often throw away the husk, but at Operation Dagger, the still-flavorful husk is used for a house made limoncello before being composted.

Eggs are another commonly squandered item, Whearty pointed out.

Egg whites are popular in cocktails but the yolk is typically chucked, so Operation Dagger sought to highlight the yolk in its acclaimed drink that’s aptly called The Egg. Yolk is cured with rum, vanilla and salted egg yolk — a popular food trend in Singapore — before being smoked in a jar with hay and star anise.

The dimly-lit bar also makes wine with natural ferments, opting for cabbages, figs, beetroot, coconuts and carrots instead of traditional grapes. Meanwhile, beer drinkers can go for a 10-day fermented brew with heritage tomatoes, hops and malt.