Promoting low environmental impact alternatives in the world of cocktails with projects that help reduce CO2 emissions and the waste generated is one of Torres Brandy’s objectives. 

The Torres Brandy Zero Challenge is the first global competition in which we challenge mixologists and cocktail bar owners to do their bit to make the planet a more sustainable place. Yes, cocktail bars can also contribute to this. How? Through sustainable bar management projects that help reduce CO2 emissions.

In this 2nd edition of the competition, the Mexican Beto del Toro has been crowned the winner. The founder of Rufina Mezcalería (León, Mexico) presented his project “Taller Zero: Giving a second chance”, which consists of having a space in which he transforms discarded glass bottles into glasses, lamps, ashtrays, cups or bar utensils, thus reducing carbon emissions! Good for him!

The international jury not only appreciated the idea of recycling and reducing the environmental impact promoted by Beto del Toro’s project, but also how “easily scalable and replicable” the project is, in addition to having a strong social component, since it employs elderly people who have problems finding work.

The countries represented by the 10 finalists were the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, United Arab Emirates, Finland, United Kingdom, Estonia and Mexico. Each of them explained to the jury how to make cocktail bars more sustainable in order to win the €30,000 prize so they can promote their project based on sustainability. 

Notable among the projects participating in the contest was the one by bartender Juho Tuppurainen of the Tilma cocktail bar in Finland, ‘Making the tropical more topical’, which consists of reducing the carbon footprint of bars by replacing fresh, imported and tropical products with local ones; the one by Felix Cohen, owner of Daisy in the United Kingdom, ‘Yes we can’, focused on collecting aluminum cans; the one by Italian Marco Crobu of the Ricicla-Riduci-Riusa bar, which transforms waste into material to make natural soaps; or the one by Spaniard Alberto Díaz of Patio de Butacas, in Asturias, with his ‘Circular Territory’ project. The other finalists of the second edition were Loni Lewis from the United States, Jason Strohan from Canada, Regor Siiner from Estonia, Rokas Tolvaiša from Lithuania, and Giedre Bielskyte from the United Arab Emirates.

The finalists, in addition to presenting their sustainable bar management project, also had to demonstrate their mixology skills by making an eco-cocktail with surprise ingredients (mystery box) and a countdown. Quite the challenge.

The competition didn’t just consist of presenting the project on the day of the grand finale. The 10 participants enjoyed a full multi-day experience. 

They visited the Torres Brandy House in Vilafranca del Penedès, the winery and the cellars where we age the brandy and make magic happen; they enjoyed the city of Barcelona, its gastronomy, culture and the best cocktail bars in the world, including Paradiso, the cocktail bar of Giacomo Gianotti, who won the 1st edition of the competition.

Giacomo Gianotti was the winner of the prize in the first edition of Torres Brandy Zero Challenge. The finalists of the second edition were able to visit Paradiso Waste Lab to see first-hand how, thanks to the award, he was able to kick-start his sustainability project.

This year, we would like to again thank all the finalists, jury and people involved in the Torres Brandy Zero Challenge for their participation. We remain committed to sustainability, which we can only achieve together. Stay tuned, we’re getting the third edition ready!