Ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, said, “Life comes from the earth and life returns to the earth” — and that is true for our cocktails.
The cocktails that we so greatly enjoy are not just the result of the talented mixologists who skillfully craft our favorite drink. Mother Nature has a much bigger role at play. The true richness of our cocktails comes from the grains, the fruits, the herbs, the water, and all the other earthly bounties that are used to make the spirits, mixers, and garnishes that combine to give us our cocktails.
Many distillers have long recognized the importance of being good stewards of the earth. Redwood Empire Distilling is tops among them.
Located in California’s Sonoma County, one of the few places in the world where colossal redwood trees grow, Redwood Empire Distilling not only makes award-winning whiskey — it does it in an environmentally responsible way.
Its distillery is housed in an old reclaimed apple canning and processing plant owned by the Hallberg family, one of the area’s preeminent families during “West County’s” apple production heyday. The Hallbergs were known for producing a wide variety of apple products, mainly under the Redwood Empire label. Today, the facility and the area’s cool climate allow for good whiskey making, with plenty of relics on-site as a reminder of the facility’s rich agricultural history.
Redwood Empire also preserves both water and energy by distilling in a single pass, its nutrient-rich mash is provided to local farmers as feed for livestock, its state of the art water reclamation facility assures only pure water re-enters the local water table, and it partners with Trees For The Future to have a tree planted for every bottle of Redwood Empire whiskey sold.
Redwood Empire whiskey is availble for purchase at retail outlets throughout D.C. and Suburban Maryland and via Drizley’s home delivery service.
Men’s Life DC’s Redwood Empire Whiskey Earth Day Old Fashioned
As the Old Fashioned is the reportedly the most popular cocktail served in D.C., we thought it would be only fitting to share our own Earth Day inspired recipe:
- 2 oz Redwood Empire Whiskey
- 1/2 oz. Tillen Farms Bada Bing Cherry Syrup (non-GMO certified, all-natural, and no preservatives)
- 4 dashes of DC-made Embitterment Aromatic Bitters
- 1 orange peel
- 1 Tillen Farms Bourbon Bada Bing Cherry
Prepare: 1) Combine syrup and bitters in a lowball glass, 2) add large ice cube(s) to fill the glass, 3) add whiskey, 4) twist orange peel over the glass, then drop it in, and 5) garnish with a cherry.
