On Grist, we've written about organic beer, organic wine, and organic vodka. But what about those of us whose heritage has left them with a deep and abiding love of the amber spirits? Are there eco versions of Irish, scotch, and bourbon whiskey available to us green-minded drunkards?
I decided to investigate a bit, and by that I mean type words into Google. Strangely, I was able to find several brands of organic scotch, but no organic Irish or bourbon. What's up with that?
First, I give you Benromach Organic (picture on the right), which purports to be the world's "first bottled Single Malt Whisky released to be fully certified by the Soil Association." That means organic barley and yeast, aged in casks made from wood from sustainably managed forests. Apparently it's got a nose of sweet, charred oak, and a palate of sweet vanilla and toffee flavors, and is it really only 11am? That's not too early for a drink, right?
Benromach says business is booming. You can try it out for $75, but I can't advise as to how good it would be, because nobody has sent me a test bottle. Ahem.
There's also Da Mihle, which also claims to be "the world's first organic single malt Scotch whisky." The site also claims, annoyingly to a grammarphile like myself, that Da Mihle is the world's "most unique single malt Scotch." You either are or aren't unique, people. Looks like that was $150/bottle, and it's not clear whether it's still available. Da Mihle also has a limited-edition organic blend.
Another scotch alternative is Highland Harvest, a blend of three malts and one grain whiskey, yielding a slightly sweeter and less harsh scotch blend than your average. It doesn't appear to be available in the states yet, but you can get it here for £14.99/ bottle.
Hm ... now I'm thirsty. If any of you fine fermenters out there want to send me a sample of any of the above, I'm happy to shamelessly hype write a thoughtful review of it.
And if any of you readers know of other organic bourbon/Irish/Scotch, let me know in comments. Cheers.
Memo to Hillary’s science czar: organic ag isn’t a ‘myth’
Comments
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scatter Posted 10:24 pm
12 Nov 2007
There's an organic pub
in Islington in London called the Duke of Cambridge. All the food and drink they sell is organic including all the spirits. Unfortunately they don't publish a spirits list but if I'm in the area I'll pop in and see if they have any Scotch or Irish and let you know.
Here's what they say about their spirits:
SPIRITS
Like beers, when The Duke of Cambridge first opened, organic spirits were also few and far between, mixers were even harder to come by. We survived the first year without tonic water, so we invented vodka and plum juice. We now have a range of organic spirits but are still cannot source an organic Tequila and sadly, the briefly available range of organic mixers is no longer around, but you must try vodka and plum which has become our signature drink next time you pop by!
http://www.dukeorganic.co.uk/drinks.html
Can Grist readers on the other side of the pond help them source an organic tequila?
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scatter Posted 10:28 pm
12 Nov 2007
A quick bit of googling produced...
A Soil Association-certified single malt:
Benromach Organic Malt Whisky
http://www.benromach.com/Product-Benromach-Organic.html
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kmp Posted 2:24 am
13 Nov 2007
organic tequila
Google yielded 4 Copas "the world's first certified organic tequila".
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scatter Posted 4:07 am
13 Nov 2007
Nice one kmp
and apologies to the post author for my inattention ;) It's been a hard day!
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tripura Posted 9:07 pm
13 Nov 2007
Organic Beer
Check the review on Organic beer at http://www.sustainlane.com/reviews/new-belgium-brewing-co ...
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