Men's Journal

Photo credit: Michael Pirrocco

Regardless of your choice of liquor, there is an eco-friendly option. We separate the wheat from the greenwashed chaff.

By Josh Krist

1. Scotch: Benromach Organic Speyside Single Malt

Most Speyside single malts are aged in used sherry or bourbon casks, but the two-man team from the region’s smallest distillery imports its fresh oak from a sustainably managed forest in Missouri. That, coupled with organic barley and yeast, gives this Scotch a bourbon- like start that turns into a dark fruit finish with a hint of peat ($80; benromach.com).

Try it if you like: Deanston 12-year. It’s an- other peatier single malt that, like Benro- mach, is pure goodness —mellow without being heavy, vibrant without being sharp.

2. Vodka: Square One

Simplicity is Square One’s strength. It’s a magnificent single-grain vodka that uses organic rye from North Dakota, fresh water from the Teton Range, and a single distillation (no need to boil away impurities if the ingredients are pure to begin with). But simple doesn’t mean straightforward in terms of flavor. Although it’s silky and smooth on the palate, there’s a full minute of quiet but distinct rye notes in the pleasant afterglow ($35; squareonevodka.com).

Try it if you like: Belvedere Vodka, which uses a rye grown only in Poland.

3. Rum: Neisson Rhum Agricole Réserve Spéciale

With just a hint of cane spiciness under mellow vanillas and dark fruit flavors, this rum from Martinique is one to sip, not mix. Certified as biodynamic by the French government (based on the distillery’s sustainable cane-growing and clean distilling methods), Neisson’s rhum agricoles are made from fresh sugar cane juice — not molasses, like most rum —and have an appellation of origin similar to Champagne ($68; neisson.com).

Try it if you like: The rare Macoucherie from Dominica, which is one of the few rums tasty enough to stand up to this giant.

4. Gin: Tru2

On top of a base of organic wheat, Tru2 uses a whopping 14 organic botanicals — imagine cardamom, cloves, lavender, and lemon all at once — to re-create the big and bold taste of 19th-century gins. The result is a rich and complex flavor (including strong notes of juniper berry, gin’s defining ingredient) that will tempt whiskey drinkers to stray and gin drinkers to fall in love all over again ($35;truorganicspirits.com).

Try it if you like: Junípero gin. It lands on the tongue hotter and spicier, but it’s the only true-to-gin’s-roots drink that can compare.

5. Tequila: 4 Copas Reposado

The only organic tequila maker in the world, 4 Copas (“four cups”) makes blanco, reposado, and añejo versions of their 100-percent agave tequilas, using carefully cultivated agave from fields untouched by commercial agriculture. Of the bunch, the reposado is the most flexible; it tastes peppery and spicy with a light woody-sweet finish, making it flavorful enough for sipping and smooth enough to use for top- shelf cocktails ($55; 4copas.com).

Try it if you like: Herradura, which shares a similar smokiness (the 4 Copas distiller worked at Herradura for 16 years).

—-

This article originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.

Print this article