Sustainable Booze for the Earth Lover in You
by Christopher Osburn | April 11, 2019
As more and more people become aware of climate change and the impact everyday habits can have on the environment, they are increasingly looking for ways to lead more sustainable lives. That includes supporting businesses and brands that pursue eco-friendly initiatives.
While not all companies have made an effort to be more environmentally friendly, many distilleries have. One of the most well-known is Sweden’s Absolut. The country is well known as a global leader in sustainability, and since Absolut is one of its more famous companies, it is also highly visible.
One of the brand’s biggest sustainability priorities is water, and has initiated practices to minimize its water usage. It doesn’t use artificial irrigation in its wheat production, doesn’t release wastewater, and collects rainwater to be used by the local farming community. And on top of conserving water, Absolut has created systems to limit energy use and emissions. But the Swedish distillery isn’t the only company carrying the flag for Mother Earth. A number of other distilleries have started to make more conscious efforts to go green, too.
Here are some of the brands around the world that are making sustainability a priority.
Novo Fogo Cachaca, Morretes, Brazil
Located in the town of Morretes in Southern Brazil, Novo Fogo is one of the most well-known cachaça brands in the world and is also a leader in sustainability. “The rainforest keeps the air around us very clean, so our sugarcane becomes filled with the influences of this terroir: banana blossoms, rainforest flowers, etc.,” says Luke McKinley, Marketing Director for Novo Fog. “In seeking to preserve this identity of the cane all the way to the bottle, we designed our distillery to recycle all the waste we generate from the cachaça-making process.”
The pristine nature of the Atlantic forest is a central reason that Novo Fogo chooses to farm USDA-certified 100 percent organic sugarcane free from any chemical pesticides or herbicides. “Using chemicals would pose a risk of depleting the soil, polluting groundwater and the surrounding rivers, and adversely affecting the health of our field team,” says McKinley.
In addition to the organic farming practices and zero-waste methods the brand employs to produce its cachaças, sustainability is of great importance when it comes to using Brazilian woods to barrel-age cachaça. “We need to be able to guarantee the future supply of native woods when many of the trees that are used to make barrels have become endangered due to unmitigated deforestation in Brazil,” notes McKinley.
Novo Fogo’s master distiller works with a reputable cooper in Southern Brazil to ensure that the few barrels of Brazilian woods it can acquire come from legally harvested wood.
Sustainable Booze for the Earth Lover in You
AskMen | April 11, 2019
