Why gin in a paper bottle is the future of eco-friendly spirits Wine News

The way our drinks are packaged has become more and more interesting as environmentally conscious producers try to move away from heavy glass bottles, and now a premium gin has been launched which is, in fact. , a bag-in-bottle spirit.

Green Man Woodland Gin, made at Surrey’s Silent Pool Distillery, looks at first glance like a normal glass bottle with a cleverly designed cardboard packaging and screw cap. But pick it up and you feel the difference. There is no glass here at all – the gin is in a plastic bag with a cap, which is then wrapped in thick shaped paper.

It’s wonderfully light – so much so that I shaken the opaque bottle warily and then poured its contents into a measuring jug to make sure the full 70cl was there (it was). The empty “bottle” weighs only 83g, while normal glass gin bottles typically weigh over 500g.

This makes it “eco-friendly” because it is much easier to transport. The same is true of the fact that the cardboard (84% of the package) is easy to recycle, while the bag can be taken to a supermarket plastic bag recycling bin (if your town hall does not take it). Frugalpac, the manufacturers, claim that its carbon footprint is up to six times that of a glass bottle.

And luckily for gin lovers, Silent Pool did a great job with the spirit, which is pretty classic for purists but with delicious and balanced herbal and woody notes. See my tasting note below.

A similar format was used on Italian Cantina Goccia wines, but it’s especially interesting that it’s a gin, because for many, a beautifully crafted glass bottle is a big part of the appeal of the wine. modern spirit.

Green Man Woodland Gin clearly won’t be a collector’s item when empty, but you can decide that’s part of its appeal too.

And spirits can have an advantage over wine when it comes to this type of packaging. Bag-in-box wines have improved dramatically but, like the popular new wine in cans, it is not clear enough how it will last over long periods of time. Gin is much more robust, being much stronger, so it is more likely to store well in a bag.

There are other, more selfish advantages to buying drinks in this type of packaging. First, it’s not that heavy to haul from a store to your home. Second, it’s not breakable – well, not as much as glass.

Frugalpac claims that you can drop it from a height of two meters without suffering the bag bursting. They also suggest that it is more of a “proof by mail” …

So other than not having a gorgeous empty bottle to reuse as a vase or water jug, it all seems like a good idea. And in general, giving up all glass containers for drinks is positive. I recommended two more drinks below, well, crush it.

Try these …