CLONAKILTY DISTILLERY– Think and Drink Sustainably for Earth Day

Alcohol production can be pretty taxing on the planet, but a good drink shouldn't cost the earth. With Earth Day, April 22nd just around the corner, consider a sustainability sipper by Clonakilty Distillery. The small, family-run, state-of-the-art distillery is located off the Irish coast and it is constantly working towards mitigating their environmental impact.

While producing high quality spirits is a top priority for Clonakilty, the distillery prides itself on their sustainability practices, which largely differentiates them from other distilleries. Extraordinarily unique for a distillery of their size, Clonakilty creates their spirits solely based on the feel, taste and smell of their master distiller, rather than utilizing any technologies. They offer spirits you won't find anywhere else that include an impressive collection of their Irish Whiskeys, Minke Irish Gin, and Minke Irish Vodka.

The distillery has worked tirelessly to move the ball forward for the environment, prioritizing sustainable actions wherever possible. Clonakilty is fully supportive of the "Cool Clon" initiative, which is committed to taking Clonakilty entirely off the grid to become Ireland's first energy self-sufficient town. Clonakilty' Distillery's sustainability efforts are broken down into three pillars: environment and community, energy and resource management, and grain to glass.

Energy & Resource Management:

In an effort to reduce energy consumption and the use of wasteful resources, Clonakilty Distillery:

• Recycles 100% of their co-products to local farmers to use as fertilizer or animal feed
• Substitutes 50% unmalted barley for malted barley in their single pot still production recipe to save energy during the malting process
• Captures and recycles excess heat production from their copper pot stills
• Uses predominantly renewable energy sources
• Recirculates the water in their cooling system, leading to reduction in water usage
• Sources the water used to cut their new make spirit from a deep well on the family farm

Grain to Glass:

Clonakilty has prioritized and respected the purity of their land by taking the following actions:

• Using barley that is either home grown or supplied by Irish farmers
• Sourcing the milk used in whey-based spirits from the family farm or neighboring farmers
• Practicing the min-till system on their farm grown grain, which promotes long term soil health
• Reusing, recycling and/or composting 98% of their packaging materials

Environment & Community:

Clonakilty works closely with their colleagues and local community to take the town of Clonakilty entirely "off the grid." Efforts include:

• Minimizing carbon footprint by keeping 90% of production operations within their local area
• Supporting local maritime charities and causes, such as the Inchydoney Inshore Lifeboat Group and the "Whale and Dolphin Conservation"

Future Commitments:

Clonakilty Distillery is always looking for ways to innovate their sustainability methods. In the next few years, Clonakilty plans to create a permanent wildflower meadow with over 100 mature trees and 400 native hedgerows and shrubs in an effort to enhance biodiversity within the area. Other future commitments include:

• Reducing energy consumption by a minimum of 10% with the introduction of additional advanced heat recovery technologies
• Eliminating the use of single-use plastic from their whiskey packaging
• Reducing average glass weight by 15%
• Including a minimum of 40% recycled glass in their standard bottle

To learn more about Clonakilty Distillery and their portfolio of spirits, please visit https://clonakiltydistillery.ie/.

Photo Credit: Provided by Clonakilty Distillery

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