Here's a round-up of some recent cocktails/wine sustainability stories in the news. For Wine Enthusiast, Lauren Mowery wrote, "Low-Waste Bars and Restaurants Are Building a New Paradigm." Some interesting quotes from the story: During the planning phase, Marcus consulted with FoodPrint, experts in waste hauling, to find a vendor who recycles and composts properly. Rich and Chambers asked a vendor to switch from plastic tape to paper, a change the vendor made for all its accounts. Others who wouldn’t conform to Rhodora’s packaging guidelines were dropped. A baker that delivered in plastic was replaced by one that biked bread to... Read more →

To coincide with the "soft opening" of CocktailGreen.org I pulled together some of my favorite tips learned in the first phase of building this website. There are dozens more where these came from! 1. You can infuse spent citrus shells (after squeezing) into alcohol to get a good base start on flavored spirits and syrups such as falernum, citrus vodka, and spiced rum, as they'll do at Good Company in Boston. read more 2. Instead of "burning the ice" from the well at the end of the evening, bars including San Francisco's Trick Dog put it in a stock pot... Read more →

The following info comes from Chris 'Zeke' Hand. Mustard Using Leftover Brine, Vinegar, Wine, and Vermouth For brine and the dregs of wine and vermouth, I make mustard. Really, really good mustard. In short sauerkraut brine, pickle brine, all sorts of different vinegars, wines, vermouths and different verjus so as to make it "complex." I really need to work on my mortar and pestle skills so it isn't always "grainy" or get myself a better spice grinder. For vinegar, I just leave the bottle of wine losely open for about six months and then start adding it to vinaigrettes and... Read more →