By Brian Merchant
Brooklyn, NY, USA | Tue Dec 02 14:00:00 GMT 2008
Vodka ranks as one of the most evocative liquors you're apt to find behind the bar. It's crystal-clear, powerful—and green?
Okay, so that last one's not exactly an adjective you'd typically pair with vodka—but thanks to a burgeoning market for environmentally responsible drinking, from beer to wine, the classic Russian/Polish-spawned liquor (depending on which nation you ask) is rapidly branching out into earth-conscious territory.
There's vodka made from organic ingredients, vodka that plants a tree, vodka made from 100 percent renewable geothermal energy, co-op vodka made by 900 farmers, and vodka that workers at an ethanol plant started as a side project. The uniting factor? All have much to contribute to the modern environmental movement.
Our buy green vodka guide is here to make sure you never have to drink a Purple Hooter or a Pink Fluffy Polar Bear that isn't green again.
Why We Like It: Prairie Organic Vodka oozes exclusivity: This certified organic vodka is one of the harder brands to pin down on this list and the most expensive. It's created by a cooperative of 900 farmers in Minnesota, then branded and sold as an über-chic luxury vodka for urbanites—think Calvin Klein models meet the urban wilderness. Just check out the odd Prairie Organic Web site and you'll see what we mean.
Eco Factor: This vodka's pretty darn green—they use No. 2 corn fastidiously raised by the farmers in a pesticide-free, genetically modified seed-free, and artificial fertilizer-free environment. After distillation, leftovers are converted into a biomass to "create biogas energy for powering the stills." Then, the post-process grains, treated as waste by most distilleries, are taken back to the farm to use as feed, a move which eliminates waste and lowers the total impact.
Greenebriation Rating: Clocking in at the 80 proof vodka standard, Prairie Organic will greenly power your night, but won't overpower it unless you take too many trips to the prairie.
Where to Buy: Online at 1-877-Spirits or at discerning liquor stores.
How much: $78 for 750 milliliter (including shipping)
Why We Like It: Fresh hand-zested organic California lemons + organically grown American wheat + vapor-distilled water = one delicious, natural-tasting U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic lemon vodka. Tru Lemon's crisp, lemon-tinged taste should make for a change of pace in your typical vodka-swilling proceedings.
Eco-Factor: The husband-and-wife team behind distillery Modern Spirits earns big points for using real lemons, not extracts or chemically engineered substitutes. Packaging is also super green: Instead of a chunky bottle, they went slim. The result, a mere 1.5 pounds, uses 25 percent less glass than the average liquor bottle. Labels are printed on tree-free paper with soy-based inks, synthetic corks are recyclable, boxes are composed of 35% post-consumer waste and designed to fold in on themselves remove the need for packing tape, and PVC caps are swapped out for the more easily recyclable PETG capsules. The best part? A tree is planted in the tropics for every bottle purchased, meaning a vodka-guzzling soirée calling for six cases, each containing six bottles, translates into a virtual forest of 36 trees.
Greenebriation Rating: At 70 proof, Tru Lemon has slightly less alcohol content than its peers.
Where: Use the handy Modern Spirits locator map.
How Much: $30-37 for 750 milliliter
Why We Like It: Reyka vodka from Iceland claims to be the first vodka distilled with completely sustainable energy. The bottles are charming and distinct—the makers design each according to what occurred on their way to the distillery. For instance, if the crew saw a Narwhal on their way to work (an artic white whale with an extremely long tusk), the bottle gets stamped with a Narwhal imprint. Same goes for eagles, seals, and some guy named Leifur, a descendant of the Vikings: We can't make this stuff up.
Eco Factor: The Reyka distillery is the only one in the world powered by geothermal energy—the heat comes from the nearby hot springs. Instead of a charcoal filtration system, the vodka is passed over naturally abundant lava rocks twice. The only reason Reyka Vodka doesn't get top honors here is due to the unfortunate fact that it's made in, well, Iceland. Most of the world has to have their sample of this mesmerizing drink shipped from one of the most isolated, far corners of the earth.
Greenebriation Rating: You don't have to be in Iceland to feel the heat of this 80 proof spirit.
Where: At discerning liquor stores across the country.
How Much: About $27 for 750 milliliter
Why We Like It: Packaged in an exceptionally stark and stylish bottle, Square One Organic Vodka is unique in that it's only distilled once (Grey Goose, for example, goes through the process five times), yet tastes as smooth as its peers.
Eco-Factor: That smooth taste is the combination of mountain spring water and certified organic rye locally grown in North Dakota Distillery. Distilled Resources Inc.'s single distillation process saves energy and emissions, and excess grain is also sold as feed to local ranchers. One of the first on the market to use organic grain, the distillery is currently undergoing a switch to 25 percent wind power. And that slick bottle? When its booze-holding duties are done, just peel off the compostable bamboo and cotton paper label, and it serves a second life as a vase.
Greenebriation Rating: At a comfortable 80 Proof, the potency of Square One shouldn't take any veteran vodka drinker by surprise.
Where: Consult Square One's online Where to Buy map for locations.
How much: About $35 for 750 milliliter
Why We Like It: Shaker's started as a side project at the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company in Benson, Minnesota, and grew into a company that produced the first vodka ever to receive a perfect score from The Wine Enthusiast. The makers are clearly proud of their story (as their cheeky Web site makes clear—it opens with a photo of the U.S. Constitution). And well they should be. They developed and patented a method to remove the impurities of vodka while retaining the taste of the grain, rolling out one of the most acclaimed vodkas on the market.
Eco Factor: Shaker's gets green points by association: The ethanol produced at the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) is used as alternative fuel. Ingredients are top quality American wheat and grain (read: almost organic) and CVEC will soon replace over 90 percent of its natural gas energy inputs with biomass power generated from corncobs and other agriculture residues, grass, and wood. Though it must also be noted, due to the sheer number of distillations (four), extra energy and resources are consumed during production.
Greenebriation Rating: At 65 proof, Shaker's packs the weakest punch on the list, but the silky-smooth taste seduces you into throwing back more than you signed up for.
Where: Widely available at liquor stores and retailers including BevMo and Costco.
How much: $23-28 for 750 milliliter
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