What would bourbon taste like if it wasn’t aged in white oak barrels? Louisville Distilling Co. set to find out. The maker of Angel’s Envy tried a barrel made of corn husks, for instance, as well as a leather barrel. The answer is, not much. So that became the theme of the seventh annual “Toast the Trees” initiative — to drive home the importance of sustainability in the bourbon industry and to raise awareness for the increased need for a healthy and secure white oak tree population.
As part of this year’s initiative, Angel’s Envy has pledged to plant one white oak tree for every use of #ToastTheTrees and every share of the “Lost Oak Experiments” video on social media. Fans can also help plant trees by testing their knowledge of the role oak plays in bourbon’s process and history on toastthetrees.com; for every three questions answered correctly, Angel’s Envy will plant one white oak tree. The campaign will help Angel’s Envy reach its planting goal of 40,000 new white oak trees, a 10,000 increase over 2019’s goal.
Since the inception of the Toast the Trees initiative in 2014, Angel’s Envy has planted more than 80,000 new white oak trees throughout eastern Kentucky and the surrounding Appalachian areas with Arbor Day Foundation and Green Forests Work.