Raise a glass for locally-owned craft distillers!

Ever heard of artisinal vodka? You may be surprised to learn that craft distilling is a fairly new but growing industry. The American Distilling Institute says that micro-distilling has grown by 30 percent since January 2010, and the number of licensed craft distillers has doubled. Just as local food and local brews, local spirits are now all the rage.

“The renaissance has happened to wine, beer, bread, vegetables … even sauerkraut,” ADI President Bill Owens says of the craft revolution. Now, he says, is simply spirits’ turn, with the industry poised to imitate the rise of craft beers that America experienced in the ’90s.

And it’s already quite lucrative.

“The beauty of spirits is the margins are a lot better than cookies,” said Scott Blackwell, owner of High Wire Distilling Co. in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. “A case of cookies costs $18. A case of spirits costs $200. The effort that goes into one unit gets you a lot further dollar-wise.”

Craft distilleries make a big splash

In my home state of South Carolina, micro-distilling is exploding, a microcosm of the larger national picture. According to The Post & Courier, they’re borrowing a tactic from West Coast spirit producers: the first distillery to open in Charleston is rife with local products, like Southern-grown herbs, corn, sugar cane, and sorghum.

“We live in a really vibrant agricultural community,” said Ann Marshall of High Wire Distilling Co. “There are a lot of things we can do.”

Although craft distillers aren’t strictly defined, the term generally refers to a distiller who produces under 100 gallons of spirits a year. In comparison, huge distilleries like Bacardi produce 100 gallons of spirits in a day.

Firefly Distillery on Wadmalaw Island was first on the scene in South Carolina, making the process easier for the craft distillers that would follow. Firefly paved the way for newcomers Charleston Distillery and Striped Pig Distillery by successfully lobbying for a reduction in the distillery licensing fee in 2009.

“When we got the law changed, it was the end of the world with the recession,” Scott Newitt, president of Wadmalaw Island’s Firefly Distillery, told The Post & Courier. “I think it’s starting to flourish now. But these craft distillers are going to have to come up with a story, like we did: We’re using all-American stuff and keeping it all Southern with sweet tea. Places struggle if they don’t have a story.”

Related on EcoSalon:
Hop in the Saddle: A Guide to Portland’s Beer Scene By Bike
I Was Told There Would Be Beer
A Beer Ad That Doesn’t Degrade Women But Instead Inspires and Empowers

Image: Joel Olives

The post Got Local Liquor? Our Growing Thirst for Craft Distillers appeared first on EcoSalon.

Define “ethical food.”

The further food has to travel, the worse it is for the environment, right? It’s the reason we equate shopping locally with being ethical. Problem is – it’s rarely that simple. As Robin McKie outlined at the Guardian back in 2008, it’s quite possible for air-freighted food to be greener than locally-sourced produce – so working out which is more ethical can be tricky, to say the least.

Part of the issue is what constitutes “ethical.” Are we talking about nothing but carbon footprints, or are we factoring in the human cost? After all, the positive economic impact on local businesses is part of the argument for shopping locally – so could the reverse be true? Could there be a situation where the right thing to do is ship food in from elsewhere?

That could be the case with Greece, as Adam Davidson suggested at the New York Times this week. EU law stipulates that for feta cheese to be legally permitted to carry the name, it must come from Greece. That hasn’t stopped other countries producing their own carefully rebranded feta-clones, of course – but since the luxury food market is all about authenticity, Greece has an opportunity to make a dent in its formidable economic deficit.  It could export of its most famous – and uniquely branded –  foodstuffs, from feta to Kalamata olives to the regional olive oils still regarded as the world’s finest, and it could do so at luxury-goods prices. In doing so, it would improve the lives of countless Greek workers, many of which are already turning back to the land to make their living…

What’s wrong with this picture? Greece’s regulatory infrastructure is shambolic, corruption remains a major issue (so some of that money would inevitably be creamed off the top by the unscrupulous) and this potential “agricultural revolution” requires solidarity and a leader – but as Davidson suggests, it’s tantalizing that part of the solution to Greece’s current woes could come from the very things it’s been doing so well for thousands of years.

If we decide burning extra carbon to help a beleaguered country is the ethical thing to do, of course.

Image: Linda Cronin

The post Local Food Is Ethical? Tell That To Greece appeared first on EcoSalon.