Cheers! Low-waste cocktails mean you can love your drink and be kind to the environment
As a longtime Brevard County resident who spends many hours on our beautiful beaches and waterways, I’m very aware of preserving the natural beauty of this paradise we call home.
A new movement in the cocktail industry that will hopefully become prevalent in Brevard County is low-waste cocktails.
It’s a term you may not be familiar with. A low waste cocktail is one that completely uses all parts of the fruit needed for the cocktail, creating little to no waste.
Furthermore, the cocktail is served without a straw and minus any type of plastic swizzle stick. The garnish in the drink is also deleted. These elements of a cocktail are things people don’t eat or that create non-recyclable trash.
Vodka drink is all punch, no bite
Straws are the No 1 culprit. Most restaurants give them out without even asking the customer if they would prefer one or not. Speak up next time you’re out. It may only be a small victory in contributing less plastic to our environment, but every little bit helps.
My recipe for the Pineapple Round Up creates zero waste and is delicious. I may have a leg up on other people, as I fed the pineapple skins to my pigs instead of throwing them away. But composting the pineapple skin is another option if you don’t have hungry critters to feed.
It’s not hard to be more aware of the waste you create. I’ve researched reusable and recyclable straws online, and many options are available.
Paper straws are excellent for a drink you’ll be finishing quickly, because they tend to get soggy very fast.
Stainless steel straws can be sanitized in the dishwasher. But they are not see through, so you don’t always know if there’s bacteria lurking inside them.
Try these cocktail recipes at your next party
Glass straws are pricey, but a good choice. They can be sanitized easily in the dishwasher and are clear, so you know they are clean.
If collectively we stop buying plastic straws and purchase better alternatives, retailers will stop carrying so much disposable plasticware that is not recyclable.
In addition to the straws, I also don’t automatically hand someone a cocktail napkin with each drink I serve. It’s Florida, everything sweats, including ourselves. Unless you have a dry clean only wardrobe, a few drops of water from a sweaty glass won’t be harmful.
To take the low waste cocktail movement a bit farther, after squeezing for juice, you can reuse your left over citrus rinds as a room freshener. I took my rinds and threw them in a pot of water with a few cloves and a cinnamon stick. I let that pot come to a boil on the stove then let it sit to scent my kitchen.
You can also scrub your stainless steel sinks and faucets with a bit of lemon to make them really shine. After all that cleaning, you’ll be ready to sip a delicious cocktail and relax with your feet up.
A daiquiri is another easy-to-make cocktail that produces very little waste. Reuse the lime peels just like you would a lemon peel. Use them for cleaning or composting. A daiquiri drinks nicely without any garnish or straw, especially if you serve it in a small coupe glass.
Pineapple Round Up
2 ounces bourbon
3 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce vanilla simple syrup
4 chunks of fresh pineapple
8-10 ounce ice
Add all the ingredients into a blender and set on high. Blend completely and pour out into a large glass. Enjoy.
Classic Daiquiri
1 1/2 ounces Light Puerto Rican Rum
2 ounces fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker then add ice. Shake well and strain into a coupe glass. Enjoy.
Christina Jordan is a member of the Straw Hat Barmen and an advocate for quality cocktails. Her recently published book, Everyday Exotic Cocktails, Florida Edition, features 50 recipes for fresh, easy-to-make, exotic cocktails with a Florida twist. It is available through Amazon and Etsy.