[imagesource: Derek Henderson/ Vogue]

Everyone is and should be thinking about our dear old Mother Earth.

She is, at the end of the day, the hardest working single parent trying to keep an entire planet alive.

So yeah, sustainability is pretty serious business, even when it comes to the leisurely act of sipping a cocktail.

Bars, home-brewers, and worldwide cocktail makers are closely scrutinising the impact they have on the planet and aim to be as zero-waste as possible in all matters of business and fun.

One of the more profound ways that an active imbiber can consider the planet is by sourcing and using sustainable ingredients.

Imbibe Live has come up with a few sustainable ingredients that can be mixed into your drinks, and help your bar’s bottom line in the process.

First up, make the most of the products you use.

That essentially means reusing and repurposing all the parts of the fruits that you’d otherwise discard, which can have a substantial impact on your ecological footprint and make the cocktail way more interesting.

Citrus husks, for example, can be repurposed as garnishes, infused in spirits or syrups, or made into oleo saccharum, which is made by using sugar to extract the oils from citrus peels.

On the topic of garnishes, dehydrated fruits, which last far longer, can be used to add a touch more interest:

Garnishes are notoriously wasteful, prepped in quantity before a shift, and then usually discarded at the end of the night. The process of dehydrating fruit extends their shelf life dramatically – up to a number of months, rather than a couple days or less.

Dehydrated citrus wheels are probably the most common, and do indeed make beautiful garnishes, but there’s no limit to what you can dehydrate and decorate your cocktails with. Think pineapple, mango, rhubarb, raspberries and more.

There’s also the pulp of fruits that can be an appealing cocktail ingredient. Packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients, fruit pulp shouldn’t just be wasted.

That’s where Sir Fruit come in handy, helping us all “separate pulp from fiction” by keeping aside one-litre batches of whatever the season’s unsung fruit juice hero is.

You can then go ahead and order it directly for use in flavour-rich cocktails, desserts, and sorbets.

Then, try to keep things local so as to reduce your impact.

Anywhere you go, it’s inevitable that some drink ingredients, such as certain spirits and citrus fruit, will need to be sourced from someplace yonder, making a grand trek to arrive at your bek.

You’d be glad to know that Sir Fruit also keep sustainability top of mind, with multiple efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle throughout the production line.

They have also implemented eco-friendly systems that work towards the maximum efficiency of their distribution network.

Last but not least, don’t forget about sustainable packaging.

Sir Fruit’s sampling is done using 100% biodegradable cups, and each bottle is made with 50% recycled plastics.

The principle of the ‘Three P’s’ is strong – People, Planet, and Prosperity.

Whether it’s a sustainable cocktail you’re after, or a health kick to get the day started, a few clicks and you’re up and running

[source:imbibelive]