Every semester, George Brown College’s mixology class – which teaches students how to prepare and develop cocktail recipes – generates excess citrus waste from juice and garnishes. And because the Toronto-based college has identified sustainability as part of its strategic vision, the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management took matters into their own hands.
The plan? Use 100 pounds of food scraps from the mixology course to create a small-batch liqueur. Tammy Vaillancourt, professor and program co-ordinator at George Brown College, says that once they got internal funding and approval, “reaching out to Reid’s [Distillery] was an obvious choice.” Not only has the family-owned and operated craft gin distillery been a long-time partner of the college, they are also a local business that actively champions sustainability.
Before George Brown even approached Reid’s, they were already reusing citrus and implementing many sustainability practices into their business, like foraging for botanicals and offering a bottle recycling program at the distillery.
“They were already speaking our language when talking about ‘Hey, we’re finding some waste with our citrus and we would love to find ways to repurpose that,’” says Calvin Reid, distiller and one of the owner/operators. “And I’m like, ‘That’s incredible, you know, we are already kind of very much doing that.’”
And so, Citronino was born. The product is a cross between a flavoured vodka and a liqueur, perfect for cocktails or sipping on its own.
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