Garden to glass—how cocktail bars are going green

Somewhere in Australia, a bartender opens a small jar of fermented citrus and releases the scent of a fruit used to its very last molecule. A syrup made from coffee grounds is folded in. A whisper of carbonation rises as the drink is finished with a cloud of herb oil made from plants grown a few blocks away. The cocktail, relatively low in alcohol, tastes startlingly alive, bright with acidity and is unmistakably influenced by its environment.

Scenes like this are unfolding from Mexico City to Melbourne as the global bar industry is rewriting its playbook. The rise in the number of eco-conscious bars demonstrates a movement built on the idea that flavour and sustainability can not only coexist but actively elevate each other. “The change originally started [with chefs] in the kitchen and has now extended into the bars,” says Arijit Bose, co-founder of Bar Spirit Forward in Bengaluru and Bar Outrigger in Goa. The trend is a natural extension of the farm-to-table and hyperlocal dining movements that have reshaped restaurant kitchens over the past few decades.

At Reka:Bar in Kuala Lumpur, the effort is to use every part of an ingredient. “In our Domino Effect menu, pulp, peel, byproducts all become either the main component or a garnish in another drink, minimising waste,” says owner Nick Choo. In London, cocktail bartender and sustainability pioneer Ryan Chetiyawardana recalls how pressing reset allowed his team to eliminate waste entirely. “By reformulating cocktails from scratch, we didn’t need a bin at White Lyan bar,” he says, of his flagship bar.

Meanwhile the team behind The Ivory Club in Kerala treats sustainability not as a secondary project, but as the bar’s core operational model. The whole rhythm of the bar is dictated by local and seasonal ingredients, a water-treatment system and an energy-efficient design.

Sustainability initiatives differ from bar to bar. For some, it’s about mimicking flavours as the cost of imported ingredients rise or embracing the shift towards low-alcohol drinking. “It’s about promoting a more balanced lifestyle,” says Christina Rasmussen, co-owner of Fura in Singapore, referring to the trend of mindful drinking: better quality, less quantity. Others are building models of regenerative hospitality by eliminating ice, producing in-house cordials and distillates and switching to green energy. As Chetiyawardana puts it, sustainability in bars is less about perfection than intention. “Sustainability needn’t answer all the questions, but it needs to be a genuine attempt to do good,” he says.

If you’re seeking innovative, sustainable drinks that offer a flavour of their region, here are some cocktail spots that are shaking up the bar world.

The Cambridge Public House, Paris

In the heart of Le Marais, The Cambridge Public House feels like a classic British pub with a Parisian conscience. Winner of the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award 2025 and the first bar in the world to achieve B Corp certification, it redefines sustainability. For co-owner Hyacinthe Lescoët, it’s about more than the environment. It’s also education, governance and community wellbeing. The bar composts 85% of its waste, powers operations with renewable energy, and donates 1% of annual revenue to charity. Through Shaken Leaf, it shares open-source sustainability tools with bars worldwide while also teaching in bartending schools. The trailblazer proves that progress and pleasure can flow from the same glass.

True Laurel, San Francisco

Founder Nicolas Torres describes the ethos as ‘grain to glass’ grounded in locality, community and vibes. The bar works directly with nearby farmers, championing ugly fruits and transforming trims through juicing, fermenting or maceration. Electricity comes from renewable sources, and reusable glassware replaces single-use plastics. Cocktails evolve with the seasons, like Rabbit Food, a crisp and bubbly shandy of house-made carrot distillate, farmhouse ale and celery seed. For Torres, sustainability extends beyond the glass. It’s about happy employees and a neighbourhood bar built on care.

FURA, Singapore

In the vibrant bar district of Ann Siang Hill, cocktails at FURA look and taste like the future. Founders Christina Rasmussen and Sasha Wijidessa craft drinks that challenge the limits of sustainability and flavour. The menu swaps beef and poultry for ingredients with low-carbon footprint such as beans, tomatoes, algae and climate-resilient alliums, alongside cell-cultured milk and quail. The bar’s showstopping Jellyfish Martini showcases an invasive species as the star ingredient, while Get the Worm infuses tequila with spiced mealworms for a nutty, savoury twist. Every detail at FURA closes a loop. Waste is composted, produce comes from nearby farms and even the drinks promote mindful pleasure with low-alcohol creations.

Bar De Vie, Paris

The characteristic clink of ice is absent here — drinks are neither shaken nor stirred. The Beetroot, an earthy Martini made with beetroot skin distillate (a kitchen byproduct) arrives perfectly chilled without ice. In Paris’s lively second arrondissement, mixologists Alex Francis and Barney O’Kane's goal is to cut water waste without sacrificing craft. “The kitchen and the bar work in synergy,” says Francis. Frozen purees replace ice, pre-diluted batches ensure consistency and insulated metal cups, ceramics with built-in thermal mass keep drinks at the right temperature.

Zest, Seoul

Ranking at 16 on The World’s 50 Best Bars, Zest, founded by Demie Kim, draws its name from the peel of a citrus fruit — a symbol of essence and renewal. The bar is a shorthand for minimal waste as there’s an attempt to use every element of the ingredients. The silky, rum-based Last Piece cocktail is created from leftover baguette ends, pineapple skin wine and pungent burnt gorgonzola infusion. Meanwhile, the bar’s bittersweet Coffee Amaro cocktail comes from upcycled coffee grounds. All the carbonation from tonic to kombucha is done in-house, eliminating single-use packaging. For Kim, sustainability begins with people. “When the team is happy, the guests are happy,” he says.

Alquímico, Cartagena, Colombia

Ranked 11 in The World’s 50 Best Bars, Alquímico is set inside a restored townhouse and pulses with Caribbean colour and music. But behind this party atmosphere lies a remarkable sustainability story. During the pandemic, founder Jean Trinh and his team moved to Colombia’s coffee region to start an organic farm, now supplying the bar’s ingredients, from herbs and fruits to coffee and cacao. What began as a survival mode has become a regenerative model supporting local farmers, reforesting native land and creating water and education projects for nearby communities. This has resulted in cocktails that taste of Colombia’s landscape — aromatic and deeply local.