FARM TO GLASS BARS

Building communities, raising consciousness, creating delicious drinks.

By Forest Collins

ollowing the success of the farm-to-table movement, bars around the world are beginning to capitalise on its sustainable and eco-friendly practices, creatively working local products into cocktails and realising unexpected benefits.

Getting the farm into the glass

Farm-to-glass bars source local agricultural products directly from farmers, third-party coordinators or even their own land and incorporate them into drinks programmes in a variety of ways. Paris bar Little Red Door, a pioneer in the movement, literally puts the product and producer at the centre of the guest experience. Its current menu, Flourish, is a collection of cocktails each dedicated to one product from one local producer. For example, the Tomato cocktail is built around the house aperitif, for which they macerate the fruit in a neutral spirit, and its menu description includes a photo of and text about the farmer.

Many bars that successfully work with seasonal products all year long have on-site labs with equipment like rotovaps to transform them into more stable formats. Of course, lower tech options can also give perishables a longer shelf life. Colombian bar Alquímico, which works with an agricultural association as well as having its own 25-acre farm, showcases indigenous fruits in homemade liqueurs. Elsewhere, the team at Line Athens are helping local farmers by collaborating and transforming their fruit into non-grape wines, or ‘Why-ins’, as they call them.

Straight swaps are a simple way for bars to support local agriculture as well. In Oslo, “the world’s most sustainable bar” Himkok has seen a very positive customer reaction to replacing the American ciders formerly on offer with Alde Sider, which is made on a Norwegian farm. And these kinds of venues aren’t overlooking bar snacks.

The Doctor’s Office in Seattle, Washington works with Farmstand Local Foods to source almost all of its charcuterie and cheese directly from Pacific Northwest farms.

Turning challenges into benefits

While going local isn’t without challenges, many in the industry are discovering unexpected benefits in overcoming these hurdles.

As a general rule, better ingredients cost more, and that can strain a business’ bottom line. Bars are working out these economics in different ways. At Himkok, they transform perishables into shelfstable products that last longer and stretch farther, allowing the bar to maintain lower than average prices, which gives it a competitive edge. On the flip side, Little Red Door has had success with maintaining higher prices but effectively communicating the humane, sustainable and organic values underpinning its programme. As co-founder, Timothée Prangé says, “Everyone involved in the creation of the cocktail should be fairly compensated. That includes not only the bartender, but the cleaners, the farmer, and any others involved in its journey to the guest.”

Some of the challenges may initially seem counterintuitive. As Paul Voza, head of R&D for Himkok, explains: “As a high-volume bar, one of our biggest challenges is not to suck our suppliers dry.” For small-scale agricultural operations, inconsistent purchasing practices that consume all of a product one year, but little to none of it the next year can be detrimental to their businesses. Having an awareness of this informs the bar’s buying decisions and relationships with local farmers, ultimately reinforcing a more sustainable system for everyone.

Of course, seasonality is a big issue for bars. Little Red Door sources most of its products from June to September, but doesn’t drop a new menu until February or later. But like many in the industry, the team enjoy the creative flexing and the opportunity to learn the new skills required to transform fresh seasonal products into something that lasts through the year. Plus this process often opens welcome dialogues with farmers who offer guidance on matching fruit and vegetable varieties to preservation methods.

Building community

While challenges and solutions vary from bar to bar, one benefit consistently realised by all is the building of bigger and stronger communities.

According to Little Red Door’s Prangé, as they actively seek out new producers in France, they build a larger network of French farmers, farm-to-table chefs and other hospitality professionals who hold the same values and share contacts, knowledge and resources. And while his bar consistently attracts an international cocktail crowd, he has seen a marked increase in French clientele who appreciate the bar’s ethos and have learned about it through these bigger conversations about supporting local farmers.

Matthew Powell, MD and co-owner of The Doctor’s Office, expands on the positive impact of sourcing local and name-checking producers: “We are a tiny bar with a very small staff, so we know first-hand the struggles of a small business. We know that margins are narrow and even minor changes in sales can have an outsized impact for a small business, so at every opportunity we look to support other small businesses, especially those that are local and owned by under-represented groups.”

Alquímico sources as much as possible from Colombian agricultural association Asocoman. The bar’s founder, Jean Trinh, explains that the association “works directly with 30 families and 200 people total. It helps families recover from the 90s, where a lot of people suffered from the violence in the country and had to leave their fertile land. It also helps women from the community to become independent. They help communities develop and transform the product to facilitate transportation, and meet a bigger demand.”

The community-building aspect of the farm-to-glass movement really resonates with bars. Combine this with its many other benefits and it truly is something that is more than the sum of its parts. As Himkok’s Voza concludes: “When bars develop healthy relationships with local farms, everybody wins!”

How utilising local ingredients is making all the difference

Rice, honey, cocoa, sugar cane and stone. What do these five distinct ingredients all have in common? They’re all adding more than a touch of local flavour to five very different bottles. The results are as individual as they are delicious.

The London Vermouth Company No.3 S.E. Dry

Featuring… HONEY FROM LONDON

An abundance of bees isn’t what you expect to discover thriving in a bustling city. But it’s the carefully cultivated beehives of The London Bee Company that produce the floral, herbaceous yet gently acidic honey used by The London Vermouth Company. Taking the place of refined sugar, the honey delivers the subtle sweet notes integral to the elegant No.3 S.E. Dry Vermouth.

Corpse Reviver No.2

30ml The London Vermouth Company No.3 S.E. Dry

30ml London Dry gin

15ml Cointreau

15ml lemon juice

1 dash absinthe

Lemon twist, to garnish

Shake the ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. londonvermouthcompany.com

Renais Gin

Featuring… KIMMERIDGIAN STONE FROM CHABLIS

It’s one thing being inspired by a wine-growing region, quite another literally adding its terroir. Renais creates its base spirit using grape skins salvaged after wine-pressing around Chablis. It also ‘harvests’ Kimmeridgian stone from the same local vineyards, macerating it for 30 days in the spirit, giving the finished gin the distinctly appealing mineral characteristic associated with the region’s finest wines.

The Emma

30ml Renais Gin

10ml Domaine Watson

Chablis

20ml elderflower syrup

20ml fresh lemon juice

2 dashes Suze Gentian Liqueur

100ml soda water

Fill a large wine glass with good-quality ice. Add all the ingredients and stir gently. renais.co.uk

Takamaka Rum

Featuring… SEYCHELLES SUGAR CANE

Once in short supply in the Seychelles, sugar cane is now cultivated there in abundance thanks to the extensive support of the producers of Takamaka. With its distinct terroir of granitic soil and beach sand, the harvested sugar cane produces a juice that’s rich with notes of raw sugar and floral grassiness – and it’s this that’s at the heart of Takamaka’s exceptional rums.

Luxury Daiquiri

50ml Takamaka Le Clos Series Rum

15ml lime juice

15ml sugar syrup

Lime wedge, to garnish

Shake the ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lime wedge. takamakarum.com

Haku Vodka

Featuring…

JAPANESE WHITE RICE

Made with 100% white rice harvested from farms across Japan, it’s hardly surprising the name Haku means ‘white’ in Japanese, the word can also be read as ‘brilliant’. Milled and polished to perfection, the rice is revered for its mild and subtly sweet flavour, the ultimate proud symbol of the country. Distilled using a unique process that preserves and enhances these flavours, the resulting vodka is exquisite with a soft appealing aroma, rich taste and an exceptionally smooth, sophisticated finish.

Haku Martini

75ml Haku Vodka

15ml dry vermouth

1 dash orange bitters Lemon twist, to garnish

Stir all the ingredients carefully over ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. house.suntory.com/ haku-vodka

Angostura Cocoa Bitters

Featuring…

COCOA FROM TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

A local agricultural treasure of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinitario cocoa is coveted for its uniquely bold and fruity characteristics. It’s essential in bringing enticing notes of rich bitter, floral, nutty cocoa to the heart of Angostura Cocoa Bitters. What’s more, regular harvesting provides practical support for the country’s small-scale organic farmers.

After Eight Mojito

10 mint leaves

20ml sugar syrup

25ml lime juice

50ml Angostura White Oak Rum

6 dashes Angostura Cocoa Bitters

Soda water

Mint sprig, to garnish

Muddle the mint leaves, sugar syrup and lime juice, add the rum and bitters, then fill with crushed ice and stir. Add more ice, top with soda water and garnish with a mint sprig. angosturabitters.com