How gin distillers are showing their green side for Recycle Week

It’s time to enjoy a responsible drink for Recycle Week (21 to 27 September)! With sustainability higher up the agenda than ever before, it’s a great time for gin drinkers to appraise the market and find those brands that are going further to make their products green.

Bombay Sapphire, which is pushing hard to make its Laverstoke Mill home as sustainable as possible, will be marking the week with a creative masterclass. For the third instalment of its Cocktails & Create series, the distiller has teamed up with marbling expert Zeena Shah at The Hoxton in London for two marbling masterclasses – a great way to breathe new life into a gin bottle once the spirit’s gone.

During the evening events, taking place at The Hoxton on 22 and 23 September, guests will join Zeena as she demonstrates the art of marbling, using the blue Bombay Sapphire bottles and drinks coasters as her canvas. Guests will also be able to enjoy an eco-conscious cocktail, 2nd Life, crafted by The Hoxton’s mixologists, in honour of Sustainability Month and Recycling Week.

Tickets cost £10 per person with a minimum of two tickets per booking.

Meanwhile, Manchester Gin customers can rest easy as they sip a G&T with the northern spirit after the producer recently switched to bottles made of 55 per cent recycled glass. Many distilleries are exploring more eco-friendly options when it comes to packaging and, while you can’t currently source 100 per cent recycled glass from UK manufacturers, distillers such as Manchester Gin are doing their bit by going part-recycled in their bottles.

Manchester Gin worked with its partner Allied Glass to create the part-recycled bottles – which customers are also encouraged to reuse with the bottle refill scheme at its state-of-the-art Spirit of Manchester distillery. As well as helping the environment, you get a £5 discount on the full bottle of gin to help your wallet, too!

Master distiller and Manchester Gin co-founder Jen Wiggins said, “When we first launched Manchester Gin from our dining room, we were running such a small operation that it was easy to control our environmental impact. As our business rapidly grew, it became clear that we’d have to think outside the box to ensure that we remained as environmentally friendly as possible. All businesses have this responsibility and here at Manchester Gin we have taken many steps to reduce our carbon footprint including our recycled bottles, refill scheme and recyclable G&T cans.”