Alcohol production requires a lot of resources and energy. The unpleasant byproducts of making your favourite wine or beer include carbon dioxide output, nitrate and phosphate runoff, water over-usage, and other stuff that brands don’t want to talk about. And if this makes you think that all spirit makers are killing the planet, then hold on, we have good news for you. Fortunately, there are a lot of alcohol brands which aimed to give back to mother nature more than they take from her. Some are helping fund environmental researches, some deal with deforestation, others support local communities and develop new methods of producing alcohol, which minimizes CO2 output. We made a list of our favourite sustainable spirit brands which you can purchase at Lassou and help them to make our planet a better place for living.
Avallen Calvados was created with the aim to be the world’s most positive spirit.
Tim Etherington-Judge, the co-founder of Avallen, says that sustainability was the major motivation for this project. Tim and co-founder Stephanie Jordan first came up with the idea to create a spirit that will bring the positive impact for the planet, and then they started to look for the category of spirit that would perfectly fit for that purpose.
Tim and Stephanie decided in favour of calvados for several reasons. First of all, apple trees reduce the CO2 emission and they also help soil capture significant amounts of carbon. Trees grow for decades and there is no need to plant them every year like it in the case with crops. The other significant factor is biodiversity. The apple orchards are a pesticide-free zone with a beautifully biodiverse system. And last but not least is a small amount of water which is needed to produce the spirit. By the way, the bottles for Avallen calvados are the lightest on the market and they are locally-sourced, reducing transportation emissions. So, Avallen is made of nothing but apples, water, and time — the most planet-positive combination! And we are happy to have Avallen Calvados at Lassou. Buy it now!
Sapling Vodka is a sustainable brand of British vodka, based in London.
For every bottle of Sapling Vodka you buy, they will plant a tree. You can find out where your tree was planed by entering the unique code that is labelled on the bottle. The local communities in London, Bristol and even Morocco benefit from Sapling planting projects.
Did you know that one tree absorbs up to 1.5 tonnes of carbon in its lifetime? The production of 1 bottle of Sapling vodka emits about 2.5kg of carbon. Hence, each bottle of Sappling gives back to nature more than 535 times.
Sapling vodka is made from 100% British wheat uses local ingredients to reduce transport emissions. And, of course, the bottle is also recyclable. Wanna buy a bottle of Sapling Vodka and get a tree planted? Buy Sapling Vodka.
Nice Wine is a wine brand that is now introducing its canned wine products to the market.
Nice Wine creates products that serve the needs of millennials who are looking for clean-label products that are free from pesticide and animal by-products and are packaged in a portable, eco-friendly way. Wine cans and packagings are 100% recyclable for your “guilt-free enjoyment”.
The Nice wines range includes an organic Rosé, full-bodied Malbec, and a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. All of these wines are low in sulfites, gluten-free and vegan. Appealing to those who are concerned with being socially and environmentally conscious.
Everleaf is a delightful non-alcoholic aperitif made from sustainably-sourced ingredients.
The brand was founded by Paul Mathew, the former conservation biologist and bartender. The Everleaf aperitifs are made using different methods of getting the best flavours in the most sustainable ways. Paul’s background as a conservation biologist is really beneficial as Everleaf makers know everything about sustainable sourcing and extraction methods. The brand also supports local communities helping them to preserve their natural wealth and resources.
The range of Everleaf non-alcoholic aperitifs includes Everleaf Mountain and Everleaf Forest. These are flavorful and refreshing drinks perfect for pairing with your favourite tonic water.
Freestar is a non-alcoholic beer brand which was certified by Benefit Corporations.
These are businesses that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance and public transparency. Freestar developed a new way of beer production which lies in skipping the yeast component and blending beer instead of brewing it. They also use their own produced “banging mix” that consists of handpicked ingredients to create the complex flavour profile.
The Freestar method of beer making is also beneficial for nature as it emits 90% less CO2, uses 80% less energy, 80% less water and ends up with 70% less waste. Are you excited about this zero booze beer as much as we are? Then buy Freestar Beer Pack at Lassou.
Warner's Distillery is a beautiful family-owned and operated gin brand which takes sustainability seriously.
In 2019 Warner’s Distillery won the Stakeholder Engagement Award at the Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards for their support of nature’s pollinators — bees.
A few important numbers, which will help you to understand why we love Warner’s Distillery so much. 73.9% of the raw materials for their vast range of gins are taken from the local British farms and thats helps them to reduce CO2 emission. 25.4% of the ingredients are grown in the Warners family Falls Farm, and they are self-sufficient in several botanical including lemon balm, lemon thyme, and lemon verbena.
By the way, Warners look after over 1 million bees in their Falls Farm. You can enjoy the taste of Falls Farm honey in Warners Honeybee Gin.
Small Beer Brew Co is a sustainable low-alcohol beer brand based in London.
This company has developed a new method of beer brewing which helps to reduce the water intake. To make one pint of small beer, only 1 ½ pint of water is needed instead of 8-10 pints needed for typical beer production. These numbers inspired positive changes across the other beer makers.
Small Beer Brew Co use the sustainable sources of electricity — wind, sun, and sea. They are supporting the 100% Green Gas revolution and now 12% of their gas is green and the other is frack-free. The used grain is carefully collected and delivered to a farm partner and used as a feed for cows. This helps to reduce the waists as well as to support the local farmers. Small beer range features Lager, Dark Lager, Steam, and Session Pale. You can buy those beers at Lassou.
Brighton Gin is the eco-friendly alcohol brand of small-batch gin.
The producers of Brighton Gin Pavilion Strength and Brighton Gin Navy Strength distil, fill, wax, and label each bottle by hand, and there are no factory production lines in their distillery. The distillation process uses a special system that cools the water, letting them recycle it rather than pouring it down the drain.
The bottles for Brighton Gin are made in England from recycled glass. The producers of Brighton Gin made the refill station where those who have bought their Pavilion Strength Gin can come and refill the bottle saving £5 on each refilled bottle. This enables them to reduce the carbon footprint. Also, they created a Gin Bike which is a specially adapted bike used to deliver their gin in Brighton and Hove. Looking for a bottle of nice and planet positive gin? Then take a look at what Brighton Gin has for you!
The Future Of Sustainable Drinking
We asked Tim Etherington-Judge, the co-founder of Avallen, what he thinks about the future of sustainable spirit brands. “Sustainable spirit brands are not a trend or fashion. It is a direction. And small spirit brands will inspire big corporations to move towards sustainability. Small brands move rapidly, they can easily change their policy to more planet-positive”. Tim is convinced, that soon people will tend to choose those spirits that are environmental-friendly and will avoid buying the bottles from those brands, who don’t care about their environmental footprint.
Ultimately, it is the consumer who will fuel a greater industry shift towards sustainability. As drinkers start to count brand transparency as a purchase motivator, drinks makers everywhere will be innovating to make top quality, sustainably produced alcohol.