Sustainable sips: five eco-conscious tipples for a greener future

I was already a big fan of its certified organic Boatyard Distillery Double Gin (widely available, €36-€46). Juniper features twice in the distillation, as one of eight organic botanicals (including local bog myrtle, or sweetgale): first in the initial 18-hour maceration, then in a vapour chamber that the vaporised gin passes through. The more delicate Boatyard Hawksmoor Double Gin, produced for the steakhouse group’s highly regarded house martini, dials down the juniper slightly to make room for apricot and gorse (limited release, Celtic Whiskey Shop, €45).

My highlight from the tour’s tasting, however, was the unique vodka, distilled from wheat grown organically in Co Monaghan. Distillery founder Joe McGirr tells me it has cult status and I can see why: I had forgotten how much character a well-made, unfiltered vodka can carry.

The team at Boatyard are rightly proud of sustainability initiatives like their eco refill pouches (developed for bars, but available at irishdrinkshop.com, €140 for 2.4l), and of the B Corp certification received last February.

This rigorous sustainability certification measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact, from corporate governance to engagement with employees and local communities to production methods and supply chains. It was developed by non-profit network B Lab, established in 2006 with the mission to ‘make business a force for good’. There are now 8,062 B Corps across 162 industries in 95 countries. The UK has more than 1,500 compared to Ireland’s 30, though more than half of Ireland’s B Corps were certified in the last year, including Bread 41, Armada Hotel, Velo Coffee Roasters and specialists in marketing, travel, design, fashion and more.

Like Bord Bia’s Origin Green sustainability programme, to which many Irish beverage producers are already committed, B Corp status fosters ongoing improvement. The regular recertification process puts an emphasis on making and meeting targets.

Today’s other recommendations represent three of 37 international B Corp wineries, plus an Irish brewery that secured Origin Green Gold membership for their sustainability measures regarding energy, water, waste, ingredient sourcing, biodiversity and community support.

Drinks of the week

Boatyard Vodka, Co Fermanagh, 41pc, €42-€46 If you’d like reminding of how very good vodka tastes, this is a great place to start: triple distilled in small batches from organic wheat sourced from the most northerly wheat farm in Ireland, using champagne yeasts for slower fermentation and bottled without filtration, it has sweet notes of caramel and butterscotch, melon and dried banana, with a creamy mouthfeel that rewards sipping solo but stands up well in mixed drinks (mixologists love it in an Espresso Martini). Celtic Whiskey Shop, Molloy’s, McHugh’s, The Vintry, The Corkscrew, Boatyard Distillery, celticwhiskeyshop.com, boatyarddistillery.com

Cono Sur 20 Barrels Chardonnay 2022, Casablanca Valley, Chile, 13.5pc, €25 A young B Corp winery, Cono Sur focused on sustainable practices from the start, from its quaffable Bicicleta range (€10) to stars like its Ocio Pinot Noir (€60). The 20 Barrels range offers excellent value, as this complex, savoury beauty shows with its delicate balance of oak and minerality. Bradleys, Donnybrook Fair, Grapevine Dalkey; wineonline.ie

Ballykilcavan Brewery Fresh Hopped Pale Ale, Co Laois, 5.1pc, €3.50 (50cl) Unfiltered and bottle conditioned with citrus peel and pine hop notes, this distinctly bitter and rather dark ‘pale ale’ features both barley and fresh hops grown onsite at this 13th-generation Stradbally farm. One of just two Origin Green Gold Member breweries, alongside Kinnegar. Egan’s Portlaoise, The Wine Centre Kilkenny, craftcentral.com, craftbeersdelivered.com, thecru.ie

Quinta da Fonte Souto Florao Tinto 2019, Alentejo, Portugal, 14.5pc, €22.95 A richly aromatic yet crunchy red from the cooler climate Alentejo project of Symington Estates, the B Corp-certified, Douro-based producers of Warre’s, Dow’s, Graham’s and Cockburn’s ports and the excellent Altano Rewilding bag-in-box red (€34.95, 2.5l, O’Briens). theallotment.ie, Searsons Wine; searsons.com

Piper-Heidsieck Essentiel Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut NV, Champagne, France, 12pc, €84.95 Made by IWC Sparkling Winemaker of the Year (2021, 2023) Émilien Boutillat at the first B Corp champagne house (2022), this is rich yet lifted, voluptuous yet bright: 100pc Chardonnay, one third of it older reserve wines and just 4g/l residual sugar. Selected independents, sweeneysd3.ie