I love it when I can rationalize a vice. Who knew that trips to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and a craft distillery in La Crosse, WI would allow me to research sustainable business practices and regenerative agriculture. And while drinking bourbon. That’s a win-win!
There seems to be a symmetry to this for me. One of the things I enjoy most is the social aspect of sharing a cocktail. There’s a connection when sipping with friends and trading stories, ideas, and philosophies. How many times have you solved the world’s problems while holding a beverage? So, finding establishments doing their part to solve one of the world’s biggest challenges while distilling spirits just seems appropriate.
Maker’s Mark: Reusing, Recycling and Sustainable Sourcing
Maker’s Mark is one of my favorite bourbons - I’m a “Wheated Bourbon” guy - so we booked a tour to see the campus and enjoy a sample tasting. Early in the tour our guide shared information about how Maker’s Mark was a Certified B Corp. She explained how they sourced their grains from local farms pledging to practice regenerative agriculture. The Maker’s Mark website highlights the company as a founding member of the Common Ground 100 Million Acres Initiative, committing that 100% of their grain be sourced from Regenified Certified farms by 2025.
Sustainable practices extend beyond the sourcing of grain. Mash is the recipe of grains that are distilled into alcohol. The initial round of distillation separates the alcohol from the fermented mash. The remaining mixture is called "stillage" and consists of water and grain solids. This stillage is given – not sold – back to the regenerative farms to use as fertilizer and feed for their chickens.
Sustainability goes beyond the production process at Maker’s Mark. Their campus is named Star Hill and has a zero-landfill waste goal. They practice recycling and composting to help achieve this target. They even pulverize used glass into soft sand to apply on the campus walking paths.
The buildings at Maker’s Mark reflect the company’s sustainability efforts. The whisky cellar is LEED® certified. It has a vegetative roof, providing significant environmental benefits. The roof’s native plants not only serve as wildlife habitat but insulate the building from daily temperature fluctuations. This naturally cools the cellar and reduces energy usage. And their warehouses, where all the aging magic occurs, are powered by solar energy.
La Crosse Distilling: Geothermal and Full Circle Sustainability
The city of La Crosse is one of my clients. I provide marketing communications support to help increase awareness and engagement in the city’s Climate Action Plan. In a monthly blog post for the city I feature local businesses that are making efforts to be more sustainable. What a wonderful surprise to learn about La Crosse Distilling and their use of geothermal energy and sustainable practices. I recently ate there and the amazing food and cocktail may be an argument that every distillery and restaurant should practice sustainability!
Geothermal energy is not practical in all areas, but it is in La Crosse because of its proximity to the Mississippi River. La Crosse Distilling took advantage of this to become one of the first distilleries to use geothermal energy. They use it both in the distilling process and for environmental control throughout the building, tapping into the energy source by drilling down 50-60 feet to hit the Mississippi Valley water table. This is an impressive contribution to the city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) goal to realize a 15% reduction of community-wide building energy consumption by 2030.
Geothermal is just the start of sustainable production practices for La Crosse Distilling. They reduce waste by avoiding plastic. This includes using compostable straws and packaging. All food waste from the distillery production is composted.
A great example of how La Crosse Distilling is reducing waste is their own “full loop” of sustainability. Like Maker’s Mark, they don’t throw out their stillage.
Instead of just throwing it away, 6000 gallons of compostable waste is provided to farmers for feed & fertilizer each week.
The spent grain is returned to local farmers to be used as feed for their livestock and chickens.
These farms, in turn, become the sources of meat, chicken, and eggs on the menu at the distillery’s restaurant.
This amounts to some impressive waste-reduction numbers:
Food waste = 500 lbs a week.
Mash/Stillage = 10,000 lbs a week of grain.
Water from mash = 18,000 lbs a week
La Crosse Distilling even up-cycles the barrels they use for their barrel-aged gin. “Many bourbon producers only use the barrels once to age the bourbon, and then they’re done,” Angela Weber, La Crosse Distilling Co.’s marketing director, told me. “This is the third time these barrels were used. They were first used to age bourbon, and then they were upcycled and used to age our apple brandy.” In addition to supporting sustainability by preventing waste, the barrels also enhance the gin’s flavor.
Emissions directly linked to the distillery are minimized because they use local sources for ingredients and other products. This practice reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by limiting the amount of transportation needed to delivery supplies. And supporting the local small business economy is an added benefit. Studies indicate that nearly 32 jobs are created for every $1 million in revenue generated by produce from farms involved in a local food market --compared to only 10.5 jobs for those involved in wholesale channels exclusively.
It's exciting to find a major distilling corporation and a local craft distillery following similar paths of sustainability. Both organizations make conscious efforts to integrate environmentally friendly practices in their operations. These businesses are thriving. I believe this offers a compelling challenge to other businesses in other industries to be just as thoughtful about adopting sustainable operating practices without harming the bottom line. It’s worth a shot!
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