The spirit created by master sommelier Richard Betts plans to share its environmental practices with the Mezcal and spirits industry.
These include using organic agaves, solar power instead of animal drudgery, sustainable wood to prevent deforestation, rainwater to minimize municipal resources and transforming harmful distillery waste into compost for farmers and adobe bricks for local construction. It also includes harnessing clean-burning natural gas to fire its stills, thereby shielding its artisans from injurious wood smoke.
Sombra Mezcal is encouraging other Mezcal producers to adopt these real-life, eco-conscious practices and innovate their own. Its palenque is living proof that these practices are not only good for the environment and local residents, but economically viable.
The company also announced a “virtual bartender cocktail competition.” Why virtual? “To minimize the carbon footprint of the competition.”
The competition is open to all professional bartenders across the U.S. Its judging criteria includes the creative use of Sombra Mezcal, incorporating local ingredients to reduce the carbon footprint, supporting farm-to-glass agriculture, as well as reducing, upcycling or eliminating bar waste. Sombra Mezcal sees the competition unleashing the drinks community’s creativity in leveraging sustainable ingredients and inventing new techniques.
The grand prize is a one-week apprenticeship at Sombra Mezcal’s new palenque to learn sustainable practices first-hand, from the fields to the bottle. It will also include planting new trees to combat deforestation.