For
the fourth consecutive year, 360 Vodka made sure the biggest and best drink to
come from the world’s premier cocktail festival went to Mother Earth. The world’s only sustainable vodka was poised
to quench her thirst this year by ensuring the 14,000 lemons and limes
along with hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables used throughout
the five-day cocktail extravaganza, were given back to Mother Earth and not to
the trash cans.
“We recognize that collecting the otherwise wasted produce from Tales of the Cocktail 2012 and converting it into rich, healthy soil wasn’t the most glamorous role to play at Tales, but in our quest to leave the smallest footprint on earth, we believed this was one of the most important and rewarding roles we could play, and one we were delighted to lead,” said Vic Morrison, VP Marketing for 360 Vodka.
360
Vodka supplied green compost bins to all Tales of the Cocktail event sites
where mixologists discarded their used produce, napkins, egg shells, vegetable
peels, herb stems, seeds, pits, fruit peels and more. Each compost bin featured instructions on
what could be converted to compost and 360 Vodka ambassadors were on-site
throughout the event to answer any questions.
“This
wouldn’t have been possible without our partner Holly Grove Market and Farms
who do an outstanding job every year of collecting the compost bins each night,
delivering it to their farm and converting the contents into rich compost to
grow more local produce,” added Morrison.
“It truly comes full circle!”
Spearheading
a composting initiative that embodies the sustainable practices 360 Vodka
values is one of the many green initiatives the company is committed to in
order to live up to their reputation as the World’s Greenest Vodka. Tales of the Cocktail celebrated its 10th Anniversary in July, themed “Aged-Well.” Founder Ann Tuennerman spoke of the partnership between the cocktail festival and 360 Vodka at the Louisiana Restaurant Association's 59th Annual Louisiana Foodservice and Hospitality EXPO on August 12 in the first Idea Zone, a series of presentations aimed to help restaurateurs become more profitable and efficient.
Ann Tuennerman Founder of Tales of the Cocktail, a five-day cocktail conference in New Orleans every July. |
“We measure our success in garnishes,” said Tuennerman. “Although we still have challenges recycling glass in the New Orleans market, composting our used produce and recycling the thousands of card board boxes is something we feel is important to our community and we aim to be a positive example for other event producers.”
Along with Chef Haley Bittermann of Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group and Johnny Blancher of Ye Olde College Inn, the three panelists shared their efforts in the area of conservation, sustainability, reusing and recycling.
LRA VP of Communications Wendy Waren refills her used 360 Vodka bottles with filtered tap water to avoid throwing them away. Another great way to reuse the bottles she's discovered is to use them to make cellos and infusions with fresh Louisiana produce like figs, strawberries, blueberries and Meyer lemons and gift them during the holidays.
No comments:
Post a Comment