When the phrase “drink responsibly” is expanded to include the needs of Mother Earth and not just Mothers Against Drunk Driving, we learn that we do indeed have some interesting choices to make. Happily, we have more options each day. Now we can enjoy delicious beverages that strive to reduce their impact on the environment. Now that’s drinking responsibly.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

As it happens, we can now drink responsibly from the green end of the spectrum and enjoy many different spirits–you may even already be doing so and not know it.

See “Slow Spirits–Food Justice and the Universal Right of Pleasure” for an introduction to two “slow” or “green” spirits that you may be drinking already (Maker’s Mark and Prairie Vodka).

That’s the the bourbon. Here’s the scotch:

Highland Harvest carries double certifications, one from the U.S. and one from the U.K. (the Soil Association and the CCOF seal). It uses a yeast that doesn’t remove all the sugars that conventional distillers use, resulting in a softer profile. It also won two medals in 2008 at international tastings.

Abita beer in New Orleans leads the way in “green” brewing. Abita was the first brewery in North America to install a special system that reduces boiling time and carbon-dioxide emissions and actually improves the brewing process. Using 70% less energy than traditional brewing methods, Abita has a vapor condenser that captures and reuses steam from the process of brewing.

The Abita Brewing Company also operates their own industrial wastewater-treatment plant. Using wastewater to generate energy, they have a Bio-Energy Recovery System (BERS) that reduces strength and volume of wastewater while creating a renewable “bio-gas” that can be used to fuel boilers.

Great Taste from the Great Lakes

Now come along as we move from bourbon, scotch, and beer to gin and vodka.

To us coastal folks, the Great Lakes are a mystery. But off the coast of Door County, Wisconsin, is a bay called Green Bay. Yes, that Green Bay. Where Green Bay meets Lake Michigan is an island and a passage that claimed many vessels back in the day, called Death’s Door. Today, a ferry shuttles visitors from mainland Wisconsin to the island. That’s Washington Island, home to some special wheat, innovative people, and unique products.

Death’s Door Gin and Vodka epitomizes a couple of trends that were big in 2008 and show no signs of fading away. The local or regional food movement is one, and the trend toward the marriage of culinary cocktail cultures is another.

In fact, the flavor profile of Death’s Door gin was created by chef Leah Caplan, who heads up the Restaurant and Culinary School at the Washington Hotel on Washington Island. The gin is based on special winter wheat grown only on Washington Island (herbicide and pesticide free) and locally grown juniper berries. Coriander and fennel scent the gin.

Here’s one of the signature cocktails and a recipe created for us by the chef:

Vodka Cobbler
(from Toby Maloney of the Violet Hour)

• 2 oz Death’s Door vodka
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• handful of fresh berries
• 3 dashes lemon
• dry sparkling wine

Shake the first four ingredients together in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a 6-ounce cocktail glass, top with sparkling wine, and add dashes of bitters. Garnish with a lemon wheel and/or berries.

And if you’re feeling really adventurous, here’s another Death’s Door recipe for you to try (vodka mac and cheese; that’s right!).

Other Organic Beverages

Distilled at Buffalo Trace Distilleries, Rain Organics makes rain vodka from scratch in small batches. Rain Organics vodka is distilled exclusively from organic white corn, creating a superior taste profile. The vodka undergoes an extensive 20-day production technique that includes cold-water sweet-mash fermentation, seven distinct distillations, and a polishing stage that adds pure limestone water.

Organic UK5 vodka carries a double certification: from the Soil Association of the United Kingdom and the CCOF seal from the United States.

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