Daily Loaf

I love vodka unapologetically. I’ll mix it into sodas as readily as college co-eds do so with rum. I would pretend it was water in my glass during a rough night bartending. If it’s a good enough vodka, I will happily swig it straight from the bottle and cut out that pesky middleman of a glass. If I could somehow justify it to myself, I’d probably pour vodka on my breakfast cereal instead of milk. To me, it’s its own food group.

After years of “refining my palate” (read: “drinking copiously”), I’ve gained an appreciation for a quality vodka. For a long time, my go-to vodka was Boru — Irish (like me!), quintuple distilled, delightfully inexpensive ($19.99 for a handle at ABC), and dang tasty. But now I think I have a new vodka, and to make it even more wondrous, it’s “green.”

360 Vodka was created by McCormick Distilling Company (no relation to me) in Weston, MO, to address the need for a quality spirit that was also ecologically responsible. From grain sources to distribution, 360 works hard to be so.

The product is distilled from locally grown grains from Kansas and Missouri. By using agricultural output from within a 95-mile radius, 360 is doing its part to lessen its carbon footprint right at the start of the process.

Next, instead of the typical pot distillation method for your normal vodkas, 360 uses a column distillation process that uses only a fraction of the energy to do the same job — think of how much easier and more efficient it is to have a continuous distilling process instead of filling, emptying, and refilling a pot to make your booze. They also reclaim any carbon dioxide released during the distillation process. The vodka is distilled four times and then filtered five more times for a cleaner taste.

The bottles are made from 85% recycled glass, and the paper labels are of recycled paper and printed with water- and soy-based inks. (Your typical recycled bottle utilizes only 34% recycled material.) The company even wants folks to reuse the shipping containers. Fifths and litres are shipped in cardboard boxes that anyone can take home and use as file storage. The 1.75-litre handles get shipped in plastic boxes that look — handily enough — just like recycling bins! Hot diggity. Just go to your local liquor store and ask for a 360 Vodka shipping container.

Since almost everything related to the bottle is recycled or recyclable, the only problem area is the cap. Just like those Grolsch beer bottles, 360 uses a swing-top stopper, and that’s a challenge to recycle. So, you have two options:

1) Keep the emptied bottle and use it to store cooking oils or to infuse your own flavored vodka down the road, or

2) Remove the stopper, place it in the preaddressed, postage-paid envelope attached to the bottle, and mail it back to 360. For every stopper they get back, they promise to donate $1 to environmental groups.

So here comes the really important question: Is it good? My answer is a resounding “yes.” It’s smooth and crisp, with a citrus note and just a hint of earthiness. It all tastes very cool — not that harsh warmth you can get with a rough, lower-shelf vodka.

It’s not a fantastically cheap vodka. In fact, the cost of a 1.75-litre handle is around $37.99-$39.99, but the Web site at www.vodka360.com has a downloadable PDF rebate form — $20 off for a handle, $10 off for a litre or a fifth (750 mL), and $5 off for a pint. Getting a half-gallon of good, clean, green vodka for about 20 bucks? Sign me up. And, speaking of the Web site, there you can also find recipes for cutesily named cocktails like the Apple Tree Hugger, Chocolate Conservation, Solar Flare, and Eco Tini.

Now when you drink, you can say it’s all in the name of Mother Earth. Score!

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