The rise in environmental awareness has started to change the way consumers think. According to a survey by Cellar Trends, almost 50% would be prepared to pay an extra 10% for foods that are produced sustainably, with drinks and cocktails included in the trend.
This new way of thinking about the planet has crossed over to different areas of everyday life and has even reached the world of Mixology, where it has sparked the creation of a huge range of cocktails made with 100% reusable ingredients. Mica Rousseau, head bartender at Fifty Mills, Mexico City, whose passion for his job matches his concern for the environment, told us, “Nothing is destroyed, everything is transformed and used to make cocktails”.
Sustainable Gourmet Cocktails is a new branch of Mixology that is gaining adepts in bars around the world. It aims to reduce the waste generated in making cocktails to the absolute minimum, thus reducing their impact on the environment.
These are cocktails made using innovative techniques, as well as organic ingredients, creative drinks that delight the taste buds and can be enjoyed with a clear conscience because their environmental impact is low.
“Sustainable, reusable ingredients and methods are becoming more and more important. Mixologists who embrace this new reality are the ones who are going to make waves,” says Dre Masso, whose extensive CV includes bar work in London, Singapore and Indonesia.
The idea is to offer cocktails made from ingredients that are organic, natural, local and fresh, but also to reduce their environmental footprint and, in general, their impact on the planet. Some of the bars that follow the trend pay close attention to every step of the process, carefully selecting their suppliers of fruit, or spirits, and even the systems they use to store their ice.
One place that takes all this very seriously is the multi-award winning bar White Lyan, in the UK, run by Ryan Chetiyawardana. They chill pre-mixed drinks and spirits to avoid the need for ice cubes, which require significant amounts of energy and storage space and end up being thrown away at the end of the night, wasting water. Nor do they use slices of citrus fruit as a garnish or mixer, because they too are usually thrown away. And they distil their own spirits, reducing their carbon footprint.
Most organic ingredients can be used for more than one purpose: for example, lemon rinds can be used to make spirits and mint stalks left over from mojitos can be used to infuse flavour into liqueurs. The only limit on the flavours and textures that can be achieved sustainably is the bartender’s imagination.
This style of cocktail, as well as raising awareness, is revolutionising the way Mixology is perceived, taking it beyond shaking and mixing different ingredients and syrups. It’s about creating experiences that activate different senses – sights, taste, touch, smell, and now our awareness of the planet, too.
