Shaking up the pub world with our ecocktails
GREEN BAR USES FRUIT OTHERS BOOZERS BIN
Vegan pizzas and frozen margaritas made with limes other pubs throw out are on the menu at Scotland’s first eco cocktail bar.
There Has To Be has popped up in Finnieston, in the heart of Cop26, to serve sustainable food and drinks to delegates and locals.
Organisers promise this will be a late night bar with “all the things Glasgow is famous for – great music, conversation, a vibe”.
The temporary venue is the brainchild of a group of friends who work in the hospitality industry. It is based in Alchemilla whi le the restaurant is closed for a refit.
Harry Olorunda, of Halewood Artisanal Spirits, said: “A few of us got together from drinks companies, a pizza trader, a few cool bar tenders. We had been talking about how to become more sustainable and move to being as zero waste as possible.
“We knew Alchemilla was shut for a while, so it came together at the last minute. We wanted to do something during Cop26, to start a conversation about sustainability in our industry.”
The bar trade is wasteful, throwing out everything from surplus fruit to bottles, cartons and plastics. There Has To Be is tackling this on two fronts, by changing its working practices and using produce other places might throw away.
Several other bars and restaurants in Finnieston are donating their old fruit to the pop-up. Harry said: “Ice is one of the biggest carbon emitters in our business, we use it and throw
it away. So here we are using it as minimally as possible.
“Loads of people throw limes and other fruit away. A bar will buy a box and then, when they start to turn, bin them. We are picking these up, slicing them and dehydrating them. That gives us lemons, oranges and pineapples to use as garnishes. We are also making lime juice with our own recipe to make that stuff last.”
There Has To Be is also showcasing products from local firms to keep its booze miles to a minimum. They are stocking two Glasgow spirits - Panther Milk and Liquid Oats, both made with oat milk.
The food menu features six pizzas. Two are vegan, two are vegetarian, there is a meat-based option and a daily special.
He stressed his bosses had made changes – using electric vehicles, green energy and improving recycling. But others had to catch up.
“We need to start a conversation in our industry,” Harry said. “If we start at the bar, with the end user, we hope that other suppliers will start to change too.”
Pop-up bids to cut waste