Wine Enthusiast Magazine / Web 2011 / Sustainable Sips

Sustainable Sips

Salute Earth Day with these stylish, eco-friendly drinks.

Recycling, using less electricity and driving a hybrid car are great ways to go green, but now you can help the environment by, well—drinking. Just in time for Earth Day tomorrow, a slew of delicious organic and sustainable spirits are hitting hotspots across the country. From hotel restaurants to neighborhood dives, bartenders are infusing cocktails with eco-friendly alcohol. Here are some easy-to-make recipes:

 

 

Crystal Caipirinha

Courtesy of Metrovino, Portland, Oregon
2 ounces Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça (USDA-certified organic and packaged in a recycled glass bottle)
1 ounce lime juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
Stir all ingredients and serve in a cocktail glass garnished with a lime twist. It’s important to cut the lime twist over the drink to incorporate the citrus oils that get released during muddling in a traditional Caipirinha.

 

 

 

---

 

Cutini

Courtesy of Sublime Restaurant & Bar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
2½ ounces TRU2 Organic Gin (infused with 14 certified organic botanicals; for each bottle, one tree is planted in Central American rainforests)
1 organic English cucumber                                                                                                       
Half of one fresh-squeezed, organic lime
Muddle three cucumber slices in a martini shaker. Add ice and gin. Squeeze juice from half of a lime into the shaker and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Next, strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with another slice of cucumber.

 

---

Hip to Be²

Courtesy of NIOS Restaurant, at The Muse Hotel, New York, New York
1 organic cucumber                                                                                                                      
½ Meyer lemon
1½ ounces Square One Organic Vodka (contains certified organic American rye)                     
½ ounce St-Germain                                                                                                                     
½ ounce simple syrup                                                                                                                         
Club soda
In a mixing glass, muddle organic cucumber slices and organic Meyer lemon slices. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the club soda. Shake and double strain over ice in a highball glass. Layer in cucumber wheels, top with club soda and garnish with a cucumber peel.

---

Tigerlily

Courtesy of The Hungry Cat in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California
1½ ounces Square One Organic Vodka infused with green tea (six tea bags per 750ml vodka)
¾ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
½- ¾ ounce honey syrup
Splash of tonic
1 blood orange (juiced)
Shake vodka, lemon juice and honey syrup together and strain over ice, then top with tonic.  Finish with a splash of blood orange juice and garnish with a blood orange wheel.

 

---

Treetini

Courtesy of Kil@wat, at the InterContinental Hotel Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2 ounces VeeV Acai Spirit Vodka ($1 from every bottle purchased is donated to the Sustainable Acai Project)
1 ounce St-Germain
¼ celery stalk
1 slice green apple
½ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
Muddle celery and green apple. Shake vodka, St-Germain, muddled celery, apple and lime juice together. Strain over ice and garnish with a slice of green apple.

 

 

---

 

 

Strawberry Crush

Courtesy of Bar Drake, at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco, California
1½ ounce Square One Botanical Organic Vodka (contains eight organic botanicals)              
½ squeezed organic lemon                                                       
3 muddled organic strawberries                                  
Splash of club soda
 Shake all ingredients together and pour over ice in a rocks glass.