42Below’s Sustainable Cocktail Showcase has come to a close for 2019, with two Aussie and two Kiwi bartenders set to jet off to Bali on an eco-trip of a lifetime.
Australian winners Tioni Naslund (Flaggerdoot, VIC) and Honni Cox (Hades Hula House, SA) will be joined by New Zealand winners Juleon Green (Bedford Soda and Liquor) and Alex Vowles (Hawthorn Lounge) on the trip, described as a “Tour-de-Trash” of the Indonesian island.
Naslund’s cocktail ’42 Reasons’ took a “hyper-local” foraging strategy, and was made using leftover waste from his bar, while Cox’s ‘One-in-a-Melon’ blew the judges away with a zero waste take on bubble tea – known for its excessive plastic packaging.
The four winners will meet 42Below’s ‘Trash-tech’ partner, Grinngo, and help save the ocean from plastic pollutants, work in recycling and sorting plants, and train local Balinese bartenders on how to run a sustainable cocktail program.
More than 4000 votes from the Australian and New Zealand public were counted toward each entry’s popularity, while an expert judging panel assessed each of the finalists’ drinks on their sustainability and creativity.
“There were some amazing drinks for us to sift through,” said head judge and 42Below global brand manager Kane Stanford. “We were stoked to see such creative approaches to sustainable cocktails.
“No straws is easy, but just the beginning, so it was great to see such innovation from our industry leaders. It was a tough gig to judge, but in the end the winners were clear and deserved. Well played, folks.”
