well, if ethyl alcohol is ruled by mercury (gemini & virgo), then “eco” alcohol certainly belongs to virgo. yes, the angel of purity and messenger of good, surely wishes those same qualities to be present in her libation. and good for the planet alcohol is infiltrating the spirit market; not a moment to late. check out the latest round up:

CORE VODKA from New York (the Empire State) uses every part of the apple, yielding no waste. The distillery has plans to make biodiesel from it’s waste, and to go “off the grid”. meaning, lowering their carbon emissions to below 0%. GO NEW YORK!

TRU VODKAS is the latest brainchild from the peeps over at MODERN SPIRITS. it’s a certified organic vodka made from American wheat and comes in recycled, recyclable or biodegradable packaging. a tree is planted for every bottle sold. (Straight, Lemon or Vanilla flavors)

DEATH’S DOOR SPIRITS: the latest eco friendly liquor to come across my laptop, also has the coolest name out of the bunch. must belong to scorpio (sign of death & rebirth). vodka and gin is made with herbicide and pesticide free ingredients that are locally sourced whenever possible. check ‘em out… their graphic design is too die for.

MOD MIX: LOVE the only organic cocktail mixer on the market today. my fave it the Lavender Lemon Drop, made with certified organic fruit, herbs and sugar.

ORGANIC SPIRITS CO: a good assortment of scotch, gin and wine are all offered by this truly “dark green” company. their current brands are:
SWORDSMAN GIN
GLEN TORRAN WHISKY
ISLAND OF GEESE ISLAY WHISKY
OLD BRIDGE WHISKY

SQUARE ONE VODKA: made with Certified Organic American Rye, this vodka is double thick cream in a sea of skim milk. i know of one snooty GREY GOOSE convert, who now exclusively drinks SQUARE ONE. i’m sure there are many more just like her…

360 VODKA: the actual vodka is not in any way “green.” but 360 makes up for that tenfold by innovatively focusing on what no other brand has: the packaging. not only is it recycled paper with environmentally sensitive printing, but their distillary is powered by Renewable Energy, and they donate to environmental groups through their “close the loop” program.

REYKA VODKA: this icelandic vodka is distilled using geothermal energy, provided by the country’s ubiquitous underground hot springs. plus, the website is hillarous - entering an age under 21 gets your redirected to seseme street.

SNOW LEOPARD: not an organic alcohol, but a very generous one that financially supports the preservation of the near-extinct snow leopard. kitty lover that i am, of course, they are my favorite eco liquor on the list. too bad this SNOW LEOPARD’s not available in the USA.

RAIN VODKA: made from Certified White Organic Corn. REPEAT: that’s NON-GMO corn! here in the USA! that in itself is a god given miracle. almost every single kernel of corn grown today is tainted, and carcinogenic. even that innocent pack of seeds you bought to plant in your garden this spring. GMO foods have been PROVEN to cause cancer. RAIN vodka will not cause cancer, drink up!

JAGUAR VODKA: ok, ok, i lied. SNOW LEOPARD VODKA is not my favorite eco alcohol. i have two fave eco alcohols: the former and JAGUAR VODKA. again, not an organic spirit, per say, but the company donates money to preserve endangered Jaguars. what is it about cats?!

ZODIAC VODKA: INTOXICATED ZODIAC’S soul mate is not an organic spirit, but one whose distillery Uses Renewable Energy. XOXO, luv ya ZODIAC VODKA ; )

SNOW QUEEN VODKA: definetely the most fashionable spirit on the list… the SNOW QUEEN ad resembles a vogue photoshoot. she’s one hot vodka, beautiful on the outside, and the inside, with Certified Organic Wheat ingredients.

RIVERS ROYAL RUM: it’s Grenadian. it’s Organic. don’t ask me where to buy it! you might start here.

LIQUID ICE VODKA: this certified, multi-grain (Wheat, Corn, Barley, Rye, Oat) Organic vodka is not only kind to mother earth… but to Jews as well. it’s kosher!

ORANGE V VODKA: this tasty orange vodka is not an organic spirit, albeit, their distillery Uses Renewable Energy.

VINCEREMOS ORGANIC SPIRITS: enjoy shopping guilt free from this Extensive Organic Selection. oh. yeah. liquor miles. oops. hmmnnn… time to offset your carbon!

X-RATED FUSION LIQUEUR: this pretty in pink liqueur calls upon Certified Organic Fruit Juices to make it’s equally attractive flavor.

VODKA 14: not only is VODKA 14 a Certified Organic American Grain vodka, but great care has been taken to ensure the environmental soundness of each aspect of the bottle. well, most aspects… baked on ink rather than plastic labels, and a “friendlier” pvc seal are just a few of the bottle’s eco perks. sleekly designed website to boot, a visit to VODKA 14 is advised.

WHITE GOLD RUSSIAN VODKA: claims to use organic grain. i can’t provide any evidence of that other than their word at the NEW YORK BAR SHOW last year. all though their printed collateral highlighted this, they have not updated their website to reflect their alledged environmentalism.

CHARBAY: the CHARBAY peeps use organic pomegranites, blood oranges and meyer lemons in their infused vodkas. hey, every little bit helps!

HALEAKALA DISTILLERS: thanks scott : ) the makers of the GMO-FREE, MADE-ON-MAUI RUMS, are hard core ecoists! They donate money to preserve the pacific whale population. and get this, their Company Vehicles are all run on Biodiesel. i feel their environmental policy is worth reciting:

“All products shipped from this store are packed in recycled materials. We, like everyone else in the industry, used to use styrofoam, but have now found superior recycled paper and cardboard containers which are themselves very recyclable. Byproducts which would be landfill waste in many other companies are used for energy. Everything used within the distillery which can be recycled is recycled. Our process water is returned to nearby cow pastures as a natural irrigation-applied fertilizer. Waste glass, metal, cardboard and other materials are taken to the Makawao recycling center.”

PURUS VODKA: even BUDWEISER is getting into the eco act with PURUS, made with locally harvested organic italian wheat. each bottle boasts a TREE-FREE label printed with soy ink which is then adhered with WATER-BASED ADHESIVE, and a SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED CORK stopper. woah…. PURUS also planted 100,000 trees in the USA as a promotional product launch. could PURUS be the king of vodkas?

FOSTER’S: In collaboration with the Australian government, Foster’s is Developing a Microbial Fuel Cell For Clean Energy Production. three cheers to their brand, STELLA ARTOIS, which recently sponsered a fundraiser to donate money to the fight against the illegal wildlife poaching trade.

JUNIPER GREEN ORGANIC LONDON GIN
UTKINS U.K. 5 ORGANIC VODKA (world’s only UNFILTERED vodka - extraordinarily smooth)
HIGHLAND HARVEST ORGANIC SCOTCH WHISKEY
PAPAGAYO ORGANIC RUM

4 COPAS TEQUILA: organically certified agave plants are distilled to create four different tequilas. to find out the difference between them, and other fascinating facts about this famous liquor, their website is a must. they have also nobly crafted a limited edition SEA TURTLE bottle, from which all proceeds were donated to seaturtle.org.

DEL MAGUEY MEZCAL: Soon to be CERTIFIED organic mezcal and tequila! check out their innovativerecipe section.

VEEV: Made with the trendy super-fruit, the acai berry, VeeV is not certified organic itself, but since the fruit is essentially wild-crafted it is pretty darn organic. VEEV takes impressive strides to give back to the environment from whence it came, with $1 from the sale of each bottle going towards green initiatives. VEEV is a carbon-neutral company, thanks to their wind-generated power, hybrid cars, and recycled paper packaging printed with soy ink from everything to the company’s business cards to cocktail napkins. also, their bottle is partially recycled - no word on whether that is POST-CONSUMER recycled or POST-INDUSTRIAL recycled. this makes all the difference in the world, as almost all glass produced is in some way recycled (post-industrial only).

BENROMACH WHISKY: Certified organic Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky. uses American oak casks made of wood from environmentally managed forests.

PRIVATE PRESERVE:and last but not least, PRIVATE PRESERVE presents the most environmentally friendly and most effective way that i’ve found to preserve wine. it’s also great for any oxygen-sensitive liquid including scotch, paint and vinegar. the can is recyclable aluminum and emits no cfc’s when spraying.

CHARTREUSE: this herbal liqueur is made with wild crafted ingredients, which is an act of environmentalism in and of itself.

ST. GERMAIN: the elder flowers need to make this incredibly delicious liqueur are wildcrafted and carted away on bicycles. sounds pretty eco-minded to me, no?

HANGAR ONE VODKA: small-batch, pot-distilled vodka, the next best thing to organic.

MAKERS MARK BOURBON: handmade using slow-cooked grain and other “old school” methods. again, not organic… but the next best thing and worthy of mention.

FRAGOLI STRAWBERRY LIQUEUR
is made with WILD strawberries. wild generally means sans pesticide, so that is a good thing. however, the brand’s use of carcinogenicRED DYE #40 is not.

still thirsty for more eco-booze news? check out some posts here:
KAISER PENGUIN
EXPLORE THE POUR
MARTINI GROOVE
THE LIQUID MUSE

did i miss anyone?