Top 10 sustainable spirits brands

For Earth Day, we rounded up 10 spirits brands that are making the world a better, more sustainable place.

Whether it’s using renewable energy or organic farming techniques, there are plenty of ways drinks brands can mitigate damage to the environment.

And if you’re not sure how to tell the good from the greenwashed, we have some tips for unpacking the buzzwords.

Here are our top 10 sustainable brands.

Penrhos Spirits

All sorts of brands are jumping on the aluminium bottle bandwagon – including Diageo, for its Baileys liqueurs – but Penrhos Spirits has been doing it since 2022, and its bottles are made from 100% recycled aluminium. Carbon Cloud calculated that moving from glass to recycled aluminium improved the packaging’s carbon footprint by 91%.

Not only that, but Penrhos also uses ‘wonky’ fruit for its flavoured expressions, including a collaborative gin made with cucumbers and apples rescued by Oddbox.

Sapling Spirits

Another brand making the most of unwanted produce is Sapling Spirits. Its Raspberry + Hibiscus Vodka is flavoured with ‘wonky’ fruit, and last year the brand also partnered with The Pig to create a vodka using the hotel group’s waste coffee grounds.

The brand is ‘climate positive’, using only local ingredients to reduce transport emissions, and was certified as a B Corp in 2022. For every bottle sold, it plants a tree; it aims to have planted one million by 2027. Plus, it offers 700ml refill pouches – removing the glass bottle reduces its carbon footprint by 25%, and the pouches can be returned by post.

Arbikie

Sustainability has become a priority for many brands in recent years, but Arbikie has had it in mind since its inception in 2013. It grows its own non-GMO barley and employs regenerative farming practices, which include soil regeneration, nutrient cycling and water conservation. It limits CO₂ through the distillation process, which is powered by green hydrogen, and uses by-products as fertiliser – and it even uses old barrels as vehicle spacers instead of paint.

The brand aims to create the ‘world’s first climate-positive spirits’ – so far, its lines include Arbikie Highland Rye and Nàdar vodka, which has a carbon footprint of 1.54kg per 700ml bottle.

Guatemalan Spirits

From a relatively young brand to one with a huge history… Guatemalan Spirits’ origin dates to the mid-1900s, and the company is showing you can teach an old dog new tricks when it comes to sustainability. The firm has planted more than two million trees and cared for 4,500 reforested hectares in its home nation, as well as using fertilisers that preserve soil quality. Its six water treatment plants filter 200 cubic metres an hour and reduce consumption by 98%. It also produces around 72 million Kw/h of renewable energy per year.

With all that, it’s a surprise the company has any time to produce spirits – but it does also offer a top-quality range of rums and more.

Greenall’s Gin

Green by name, green by nature. Another historic brand proving it can take on new things is Greenall’s Gin, which is produced at one of England’s oldest gin distilleries, G&J Distillers. Running since 1761, the distillery now operates on 100% renewable energy from offshore wind farms. When it comes to waste, everything is either recycled, composted, donated or converted into electricity to power homes.

Greenall’s is another brand saying ‘no’ to glass, but instead of aluminium it has embraced paper. Its paper bottles are made from 94% recycled paperboard, reducing weight, carbon footprint and water usage.

The Lost Explorer

There are lots of conversations going on right now about how agave spirits can be sustainable, but one brand has been talking about it since its inception. The Lost Explorer was founded in 2020 as ‘a toast to empowering sustainable Mexican enterprise while preserving the ancient artisanal craft, heritage and biodiversity of Mexico’.

Its production practices are designed to benefit its local community in Oaxaca and protect biodiversity. The brand replants at least three agaves for every one used, germinates the seeds of genetically diverse agave and recycles its waste into copitas (mezcal cups), bricks and fertiliser.

The brand also partners with the Voice for Nature Foundation. Together they have installed rainwater harvesting systems and supported women-led businesses.

Mermaid Gin

Mermaid Gin proves that sustainability can be beautiful, with its iconic ridged bottle free from plastic and coloured with biodegradable paints. Its neck tag is recyclable and even the tamperproof seal can be composted. The brand ditched bubble wrap and tape in favour of sturdy cases and metal staples.

The distillery sources its ingredients ethically and locally and engages with initiatives such as The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, which monitors and restores seagrass meadows in the waters surrounding the brand’s home. It also works with Surfers Against Sewage to clean up the UK’s coastline.

Diplomático Rum

In 2009, Venezuelan rum brand Diplomático managed to bag Latin America’s first ISO 14001 certification – an environmental management system.

Since then, it has implemented a sustainability programme called ‘Distilled Consciously’, which has included an eco-friendly cocktail competition and partnerships with different organisations dedicated to fighting food waste.

Its sister brand, Canaïma Gin, which is produced by Destilerias Unidas, Diplomático Rum’s distillery, has also worked with Saving the Amazon to tackle deforestation and contribute to food, security and changing the socioeconomic conditions of the area’s indigenous communities.

Pod Pea Vodka

Pod Pea Vodka is on a mission to create a ‘planet-positive’ spirit. Peas are ‘nitrogen fixers’, which reduce the need for fertilisers and pesticides, helping future crops thrive. Plus, the brand’s peas are grown at Somerleyton Farm, which uses regenerative agriculture practices in order to reduce its carbon footprint. Its peas are 100% British and only grown in season, while the water, labels and glass it uses are all UK-sourced. Everything is fermented, distilled and bottled on one site in order to reduce carbon emissions through transport.

For Earth Day this year, the brand is collaborating with bars around the UK to create seasonal, sustainable cocktails using leftover, repurposed or natural ingredients – such as Stray’s Bloody Mary using leftover pizza sauce.

Novo Fogo

Novo Fogo is a 100% organic cachaça created at a zero-waste, carbon-negative distillery in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest. The forest is at the heart of the brand’s operations, with the company dedicated to protecting it. Its initiatives include the Un-Endangered Forest project, which aims to prevent the extinction of more than 40 native tree species.

It grows its sugarcane without chemicals and processes it by hand in small batches – plus its distillery is built on a slope, meaning liquids move using gravity instead of motorised pumps.