By Carly Milne for TakePart.com
You’ve switched to organic snack foods, greened your closet, and pledged to use toxin-free cosmetics. What’s next in the quest for conscious consumerism? Alcohol, of course.
In fact, the movement is already afoot. “A lot of bars use sustainable ingredients, source alcohol from local purveyors and use products from socially aware businesses,” says Marcos Tello, a consultant who’s created cocktails for numerous spirit brands and outlets around the globe through his consultancy firm, Tello Demarest Liquid Assets.
Tello is at the forefront of cocktail culture, having worked with numerous companies aiming for change in the bar world. “Some of the best products come from California,” he notes, “like the Greenbar Distillery, which produces a number of fine products including rums, vodka, gin and bitters that are 100% organic and locally sourced.” He also recommends Marian Farms, based in Fresno, which makes a biodynamic curacao; and Veev, which is 100% sustainable and produces a spirit made from Acai. “They also benefit the planet on a global scale by donating a percentage of profits to the rainforest,” adds Tello. “All three of these companies have great quality products, so why not be globally responsible while getting a little socially irresponsible?”
Global responsibility is part of the behind-the-scenes mandate of Southern California-based Greenbar Distillery, L.A.’s first distillery since prohibition—and the only one focused on creating a vast portfolio of organic spirits, which are available for purchase across the country. The company’s flagship is Tru organic vodka, which comes in flavors like straight, garden, lemon and vanilla. From there, they’ve branched out to include an organic gin with American wheat and hand-processed ingredients, Ixa organic tequila featuring fully matured agave plants, a true white whiskey called Slow Hand, silver and spiced varietals of their Crusoe organic rum, as well as liqueurs, aperitifs and bitters..
And while Greenbar’s mandate is to provide great-tasting spirits, their commitment to sustainability is powerful. The company uses only certified organic ingredients and maintains a solid and direct relationship with many local farmers. Their lightweight bottles are made of recycled materials, as are their bottle labels. And for each bottle sold, Greenbar plants a tree in the rainforests of Central America. So far, the company has planted over 260,000 trees.
“People are definitely engaged in finding out where their food comes from,” says Greenbar co-founder Litty Matthew. “But we can only keep their interest if what we make tastes great. So for us, organic also delivers in terms of flavor.”
Source : Livinggreenmagazine
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