Today it is very important to make green choices when it comes to purchases that you make. However, while many consumers look for organic produce and buy items with recyclable packaging, not enough people are looking for eco-friendly drinks and eco-friendly beverages. This is unfortunate, because there are many tasty green drinks to choose from.

Locally Manufactured Drinks

One of the easiest ways to make your beverage choices eco-friendly is to buy them from local manufacturers. Buying your drinks from local producers cuts down on the amount of fuel that is used to transport your products and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. In Europe, buying locally produced drinks is very hip right now. In fact, some local soda and alcoholic beverages, like Bionade, are becoming so popular that large cola companies like Coca Cola are taking steps to try and crush these small companies. However, locals are dedicated to their local brands, and they are pouring more of their money into these drinks.

Mixing Green Drinks

When going green, you need to think about more than just recycling and buying organic products. You need to think about ways that you can infuse every aspect of your life with eco-friendly products. To get you in the right mindset for going green, try throwing a green drinks party. For this party you will want to use only green products and drink ingredients.

Your shopping list for a green drinks party is going to start with green beverages that are locally manufactured. Green sodas are great items to start with. To find a green soda, you will want to look for a product that has organic ingredients and is manufactured locally. Green juices also are great if you can find them, as they can enhance your green mixed drinks. Finally, if you want to serve alcoholic beverages, you will want to look for locally brewed products. Locally brewed beers and wines are going to offer you the options for your green drinks party. You can mix these eco-friendly products with your green sodas and local fruit juices.

Written by Eisla Sebastian

The newest craze on the L.A. bar scene is mixing up old standards with a new spirit: VeeV, an all-natural, 60-proof, clear spirit made mostly from açaí berries. Grown in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like dark berries (think blackberry and black cherry) with just the hint of dark chocolate. Along with açaí, VeeV contains acerola cherry and prickly pear juice. At 60 proof, it has less alcohol, not to mention fewer calories, than most clear spirits, and the açaí berry has 57 percent more antioxidants than pomegranates, perhaps making VeeV the healthiest alcohol on the market.

Not only is VeeV refreshing, it's also green. Courtney Reum, the co-founder of VeeV (with brother Carter), says the company donates $1 for each bottle sold to support the sustainability of growing açaí in the Amazon and raise awareness of rainforest concerns. Initially VeeV debuted at about 30 L.A. bars and restaurants, but the distribution has broadened to include most of southern California, San Francisco and Chicago.

Courtney and Carter Reum shared one of their favorite VeeV recipes with the White Apricot Newsletter, an online source catering to the eco- and socially conscious residents of southern California. The VeeV "Drunken Cherry" contains two ounces of VeeV, brandy-soaked cherries, fresh lime juice and soda. Shake the VeeV, fresh lime juice and cherries with ice in a cocktail shaker, pour it over ice and add soda to taste.

Mixology has embraced this new liquor, and mixologists at the hottest bars are coming up with their own new drinks. Fred Dexheimer at West Hollywood's BLT Steak created the "Fountain of Youth." Combine two ounces of VeeV, half ounce simple syrup, half ounce fresh lime juice and two ounces Knudsen's Organic Blueberry Nectar in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and pour this concoction into chilled martini glasses. Garnish the drink with blueberries.

Those who love VeeV promise it can be substituted in any recipe that uses clear liquor, and local bars in the Los Angeles area seem to be competing to come up with the best new recipes. Rumor has it that Red Bull has taken a back seat to this healthier drink. Is VeeV a fad or will it last? At $34.99 a bottle, it won't break the bank. The environmentally conscious can feel good about drinking a sustainable product that supports its growers and is made by a carbon-neutral company, which is unique among spirits factories. Most hope VeeV is the beginning of a new wave of eco-friendly, health-conscious liquors.

Written by L. Lee Scott

Cosmopolitan, manhattan, martini... you'll hear these names frivolously thrown around any upscale bar or club.

Intoday's world, we aren't as frivolous with our clothes, our food or our cleaning products. The world is becoming eco-conscious, and consumers are searching for eco-friendly products to help them go green. Why stop when you order a drink at the bar? Eco-friendly cocktails are the newest trend for the environmentally conscious consumer.

Organic Beer and Wine
MSNBC recently reported on this growing trend in the United States and commented that organic beer and wine are the first eco-friendly alcoholic drinks that many consumers encounter. For a beer or wine to be classified as organic, like Peak Organic Beer and products from The Organic Wine Company, the beverages need to meet the standards set by the USDA's National Organic Program. By doing so, they can be considered organic, and consumers can be sure they are helping the environment with their beer or wine choice.

Organic Juice, Fruit and Vegetables
If you can't go without your favorite alcoholic cocktail at a party, consider adding to it with organic fruit and vegetables. Making a mimosa? Be sure to add Tropicana's organic orange juice. If you want a martini, add a Rawganique organic olive to your drink. Even if the alcohol itself isn't eco-friendly, there's no reason not to spice it up with a green mixer or garnish. Many cocktails have started adding organic tea as a mixer. What will they think of next?

Green Business Habits
Another way to go green with your cocktail choice is to select beverages whose companies have environmentally friendly practices. The açaí berries used in VeeV, for example, are not only harvested from sustainable forests, but the company donates $1 for every bottle purchased back to the Brazilian rainforest. Seek out companies like VeeV, who make the word "eco-conscious" part of their business practice.

Eco-friendly cocktails are the newest trend for the environmentally conscious consumer. From organic beer, wine, mixers and garnishes to companies that make going green part of their business plan, selecting eco-friendly drinks is a lifestyle change you won't have to suffer through. The options for green cocktails are limitless if you open up your mind when ordering at the bar.

Sources:

MSNBC; Organic Booze Becomes Cocktail Trend at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25098479/

Peak Organic Beer at http://www.peakbrewing.com/

Organic Wine Company at http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/

Rawganique at http://www.rawganique.com/Food-raw-organic-olives.htm

SmartsCo at http://www.smartsco.com/content/view/108/66/

Veev at http://www.veevlife.com/

Written by Kelly Herdrich

Going green gets even better when cocktail parties and special toasts are enhanced with some eco-friendly drinks; isn't it high time you enjoyed some cocktails with a conscience?

When you've made a commitment to live life on the greener side, it's easier than you think to mix up a lineup of green drinks that wow the crowds and the planet. Eco-friendly beverages can include açaí berry martinis, fresh fruit mojitos and cucumber cocktails made with a planet-friendly alcohol for the base.

Using fresh fruit and organic juice as a flavoring and then garnishing the cocktail with wedges of lime or lemon is all you need to put together a few eco drinks that support your green living habits.

A few eco drink recipes to try this season:

Açaí Berry Martinis
The Brazilian açaí berry has been deemed one of the world's superfoods and is chock full of heart-healthy compounds. Using Veev, an alcohol made with the açaí berry, will enhance the flavor of any martini, and it will be beautiful when garnished with fresh berries. Try this one straight up for a 'healthy-tini' that is sure to become a crowd favorite.

Cucumber Spritzers
Cucumber adds a crisp and cool flavor to drinks on the rocks, and a spritzer made with a few slices of fresh cucmber and lime delivers an invigorating surprise. Fresh cucumber-infused cocktails are leading the eco drinks menus at dozens of bars and restaurants across the country.

Berry Mojitos
From blackberries to strawberries, the classic mojito goes green with fresh fruit infusions - and it will have you convinced you're sipping on a tasty fruit punch. Just add a sprig or two of fresh mint and sugar to the bottom of the glass, then load up on fruit for an intense tropical flavor.

Pomegranate Veev Cosmopolitan
Pomegranate goes mainstream with the Veev cosmopolitan, the perfect way to kick off a night of revelry. Fresh pomegranate juice can be mixed with Veev and the cosmo is finished off with a wedge of lime or a handful of fresh berries.

Passion Fruit Punch
If the night calls for entertaining a large crowd, an eco-friendly punch is sure to impress even the most discerning cocktail critic. Mix together fresh passion fruit juice, rum, organic strawberries, pineapple and oranges for a tasty addition to the drinks table.

Written by Sabah Karimi