In recognition of Earth Day we felt compelled to look into organic ingredients and liquors. And, of course, it gave us the opportunity to create another libation of our own. While there are some organic liquors out there, it was surprising that there were not more distillers who operate in the “green” and produce eco-friendly products.
One of our favorites that we have been long time fans of is Organic Prairie Vodka. Not only is it organic and eco-friendly and created here in the US (Minnesota), but it is also certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union. And it takes an infusion really well. We did an infusion using a citrus green tea that resulted in a light golden color and nice, light herbal notes with the crispness of the Prairie vodka.
We paired the infused Prairie Vodka with an equal portion of Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine. Practically impossible to get right now, this beautifully crafted wine dates back to 1740, and is still made with high quality raisins and fresh ground ginger.
For some reason Nicky and I kept coming back to thoughts of the forest as we discussed the “tastes” of Earth Day. Specifically pine. So it only made sense to pull out the bottle of the Zirbenz Stone Pine liqueur. This amazing liqueur comes from the fresh pine cone of the Arolla Stone pines of the Alps. We like these trees. They are tough, majestic and they play a large role (literally) in hindering avalanches. We won’t even go into the difficulties faced by the mountaineers who have to scale the alpine mountainsides to harvest the “pine fruit.” But we are eternally grateful to each of them for their heroic efforts. And we like that Haus Alpenz partners with local harvesters and support a deep respect of forest conservation practices.
Not many cocktails are complete for us without a dash of some type of bitters. For this round, we went with Fees Brothers Rhubarb Bitters. The tart rhubarb flavors have a slight bark taste as well that blend perfectly with the other ingredients.
A Walk in the Woods (not pictured)
2 part citrus green tea infused organic Prairie Vodka
2 part Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine
1/2 part Zirbenz Pine Liqueur
3-4 dashes Fees Brothers Rhubarb Bitters
Place all ingredients in an iced shaker, shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon or orange twist, or a sprig of rosemary.
This drink is best enjoyed outdoors.
We also liked the visual idea of an Earth Day Cordial (pictured above). The bottom layer of violet syrup is then topped with an equal part mixture of AGWA Bolivian Cocoa liqueur and ghost pepper infused Prairie Vodka. Yum.
Our Libatious Nature 