Bar & Drinks

Green Wedding Guide:

Bar & Drinks

  • This can reduce your purchasing and the energy needed to transport heavy bottles of booze. Many caterers use their own cordials, liqueurs, and bitters as well as seasonal fruit to create delicious specialty drinks.

  • Select local, craft brewed beer, sustainable/organic or biodynamic wines, and craft distilled spirits. If your venue is BYOB-friendly, have some fun choosing great local options for your bar

  • Sustainably grown wines don’t have to be out of your budget. And while sustainable is a nebulous term, it takes into account the environment, biodiversity, and worker issues. New Zealand and Australia are leaders in sustainable wine, but there is wine from every region that is grown in sustainable ways.

  • Don’t offer bottled water. Create an infused water station to be served out of pitchers or decorative dispensers. Use small paper cups for guests to serve themselves. Plastic is the hardest material to recycle and generally can only be down-cycled, converted into lesser quality plastics for reuse.

  • Aluminum is light, uses less gas used to transport, and is easily recycled. Glass, while heavier, is a better alternative to plastic because it can be recycled endlessly. Many craft beers are in cans and Goose Island even offers sodas in glass bottles.

  • Champagne toasts require renting glassware and often end up being wasted. Let your guests either choose champagne at the bar or toast with their preferred drink and you'll save money and energy in the process.

  • Avoid unnecessary packaging & choose keg beer, spirits or wine.

The “Any Other Name” Cocktail

1.5 oz. Vanilla-infused Prairie Organic vodka
.5 oz. Pear butter*
.5 oz. Rosemary simple syrup (see recipe below)
.5 oz Lime juice

Lime peel, for garnish

Angostura bitters

Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake thoroughly. Strain and serve over ice in a rocks or old fashioned glass. Garnish with lime peel.

Rosemary Syrup

Yield: 2 cups

1 cup unprocessed or demeara sugar
1 cup water
4 sprigs Fresh rosemary

In a sauce pot, bring all ingredients to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and turn off heat. Let stand 30 minutes and strain through a mesh sieve.

*Like apple butter, pear butter does not contain any dairy but is more like a thickened pear sauce. Substitute apple butter if you can't find pear (or make your own).

Recipe provided by Big Delicious Planet

“Use It Up” Rum Punch

Various rums and juices, mixed together to make a boozy, summery cocktail with island vibes

Rum punch (or any punch, for that matter) is a great way to use up bits of juices – this one contains guava, mango, orange, and lime – as well as the ends of bottles of any random liquors or liqueurs you may have on-hand – this one contains silver rum, spiced rum, aged rum, and banana liqueur. Just taste and balance out sweet, sour, and bitter flavors.

Recipe provided by The Joinery’s in house bar program

Preserved Lemon Sour

Vodka, preserved lemon, citrus juice, aquafaba

Stuck with too many lemons? Preserve/pickle them in salt, water, aromatics/herbs, and, sometimes, oil! Traditionally used in North African/Mediterranean cooking, they can also be added to cocktails for a briny, zesty kick. Keep in mind, because these are brined, they will act a bit like an olive – making this “sour” reminiscent of a dirty martini.

Recipe provided by The Joinery’s in house bar program