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Yes, I am a child of the 60’s and yes, though many of you may be surprised, I do remember much of it My age and life experience in part, may have a bit to do with my interest in “Going Green.”
I also have a very personal interest in supporting Green. My father, a small orchard grower had fought and lost the battle of his life with Pancreatic Cancer. Many, including myself, feel it had been brought on or at least acerbated by the continuous influence of the many pesticides used season after season as he both mixed and sprayed them into the air that he would breathe and the food that we ate.
Not including those wonderful brownies friends would bring to our Hootenanny, I also remember bland and even awful tasting food and drink. My friends “times are a changin.”
In my search for green wines, beers and spirits I have been pleasantly surprised in a number of great Green spirits. Now we are not always aware of many Green products out there and hopefully this may help you in your search. Some are green without the official Green indication on the product.
An example is Siembra Azul Tequila www.siembraazul.com. Though it is not designated as organic it is the first Tequila to be designated as being Kosher. Obviously reporting to a higher authority. I also found tequila being produced called 4 Copas Tequila www.4copas.com. Not yet available in Pennsylvania and a bit pricey, I am trying to find a sample to try for myself.
We also have Rhum Clement from the beautiful island of Martinique. This is a product that I am very fimular with. Again, not certified organic. But they follow many organic procedures in its conscious attempt to protect the environment of this heaven on earth. Rhum Clément Première Canne Rum www.rhumclement.com is produced from organic sugarcane, pressed to create the base for this herbal, fruity white rum. The spent canes are then dried and used to fuel the production process.
We are seeing more and more in the organic vodka market. Prairie www.prairievodka.com , 360 www.vodka360.com, Square One www.squareonevodka.com and UK5 www.uk5.org. Yes UK5. Watch out for this one. So pure and cleanly distilled it is NOT FILTERED. This Organic vodka is made from 100% organic rye. The farm where the rye is produced has been certified organic for over 30 years. It is both the number of distillations and the filtering that is important to produce clean, smooth vodka. This is a correct statement. Filtering does separate impurities but also can filter or alter the taste (with charcoal or fibers). UK5 is distilled to purity and without filtration leaving this one of the cleanest flavorful vodkas I have ever experienced.
From the same house of UK5 you will find four other fantastic spirits. The gin in this portfolio is Juniper Green Organic Gin www.junipergreen.org. Again organic, this London Style Dry Gin is produced in very small batches of 500 liters per day. They use only 100% organic botanicals and organically grown grain. Because of its purity it presents the botanicals and serves up an exciting circus of flavors. This 86.6 proof gin is dry and soft with very little alcohol burn. A pleasure to the pallet. This brings us to its downside. Juniper Green, like many organic products will take some effort to find, but certainly worth the journey.
Organic rum, yes we are back to rum without the H. (to learn more about rHum Agricole, and this special AOC go to http://www.ministryofrum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39 )
Papagayo http://www.maisonjomere.com/papagayowhiterum.htm comes to us from Paraguay. Award winning and certainly well suited to the American pallet. This rum not only is a fine product but it has a fantastic story.
Paraguay is a small landlocked country in the heart of Central America bordered by Argentina and Bolivia. In 1993 this underdeveloped region called Arroyos y Esteros, about 60 miles north of the capital city of Asuncion, Edwardo Felippo began his organic farming project. This project, to work closely with the impoverished sugarcane farmers of this area and bring pride and economic well being to this community of more than 800 families. They are now receiving a significantly better price for their cane and the environment has been improved due to the organic method of farming as well as being educated in production, harvesting and transportation. Wow, what a story.
All this in a wonderfully smooth spirit. I have had the pleasure of enjoying it straight and with my favorite organic limes. Now all I need is an organic cola to enjoy with the spiced rum. Ah…..Cuba-Libra!
The last of the fantastic five is Highland Harvest Organic Scotch Whisky http://www.maisonjomere.com/highlandharvest.htm. Okay I am a whisky drinker. I love my Beam Black, Makers Mark and the Dalmore Single Malt Scotch. Laphroig Small Cask is also a favorite of mine while sitting by my fire pit on a cool fall afternoon. I know which of the whiskeys mentioned spell whisky without the “e” and what gives Scotch it unique peaty flavor.
One of the first things I noticed was the heraldic three-feather badge on the label. Highland Harvest was awarded the Royal Warrant from Prince Charles and is one of the world’s first organic Scotch whisky. A blend of three grain whiskies (Highland, Isles and Speyside) and a Highland malt. They are blended and matured for four years. The result reveals a light taste with notes of pine and fruit. This whisky is sweeter and less harsh and will probably not replace your favorite single malt, but for the price, it will certainly be a welcome addition to your collection. Oh yes, if you find it be very nice to your representative. Because of its limited production, Highland Harvest is on allocation.
Don’t get me wrong. If these products would reveal the characteristics of a bland and healthy taste I admit I would probably not enjoy organic spirits and certainly not order it simply because it was organic. I will still enjoy fantastically crafted bourbon or a California Cab not organically produced. You can also be confident that I will make certain that the bottle is recycled. But to have the opportunity to truly enjoy a fine tasting, smooth vodka, gin, rum or scotch gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that it is being produced Green and not negatively affecting other lives or the environment. I am definitely proponent and I certainly know you will be satisfied with your experience. As always, please be responsible while indulging and enjoy with all the love in which these fine spirits are produced. The Social Chemist.
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