Carbon-neutral Spirit

New Zealand’s southernmost distillery has just become the first of its type to be awarded Carbon Neutral status by EKOS. Located on the rugged, weatherworn Otago Peninsula, Sandymount Distillery’s property is being reforested with 2000 native species trees over 36 months. 90% of the still’s output is run through roof-mounted solar panels and excess power is sold back to the grid to offset times when grid use is needed and remotely controlled LED lighting reduces reliance on power-hungry older tech. When the stills are quiet, the facility draws less than 1kw/h of power. Ingredients for their gins and liqueurs are sourced as close to the still as possible, including on-site spring water, wormwood (for their vermouth), native botanicals and fruit trees which all grow on site. The coolant used in the distillation process is simple reticulated rain water rather than chemical coolants or refrigerants and their bottle labels are made from post-consumer waste. New products just released include Sandymount’s Green Marker Dry Vermouth, Red Marker Sweet Vermouth, 1880 Bitter Amaro (made from artichoke and orange) and their unique Negroni crafted entirely from in-house gin, vermouth and Amaro. Owner/distiller Richard Wilson is stoked to have reached this milestone before the business’s second birthday. “This is what I’ve been working towards since I built my first still. It’s really something to celebrate.” Wilson says, “New Zealand’s distilled spirits sector is very collaborative and future-focused so I’m definitely not the only one working with our environmental footprint front of mind – but I’m still pretty happy to be the first to get this tick.” Look out for their 150btl limited Chapter 4 Gin release later this year