Drink Well and Support a Good Cause This Season

Sip a Snow Leopard Vodka and help the endangered snow leopard

By Seattle Mag November 25, 2015

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We’re in the middle of the season of giving–don’t forget that as you’re eating to capacity tomorrow–and it’s the beginning of the holiday party season (one of my favorite times of the year). While it may not always be evident, those two things actually can go together. One tasty way is by thinking about serving some party drinks with Snow Leopard Vodka.

The Snow Leopard Trust is a Seattle organization dedicated to protecting the endangered snow leopard, and have been doing this good work since 2000 (you should go adopt a snow leopard there right after reading). The Snow Leopard Vodka story, though, started in In 2005, when founder Stephen Sparrow was traveling in the Himalayas, and learned of the snow leopard, and how there are only an estimated 5,000 remaining in the wild. He’d always had a lot of passion for the natural world, and decided he wanted to help these animals. His decision of how to do that is interesting–he created a high-quality vodka, naming it after the animals, and donating a portion of all profits to the Snow Leopard Trust.

To really get people excited, Sparrow decided to make a vodka from the rare spelt grain rare ingredient, which is “an ancient grain with a tough husk that retains nutrients while keeping out pollutants as it grows.” While the vodka, which is also influenced by pure natural spring water, has a crisp, cleaness that you’d expect from a top-shelf product, the spelt gives it a mix of floral notes, nutty, spice, and vanilla.

According to Sparrow, the donations made to the Snow Leopard Trust on sales of this vodka “fund vital conservation efforts, including research and livestock insurance and vaccination, as well as education and economic training for the herders who share the snow leopard’s habitat in the rugged mountains of Central Asia.”

So when you’re sipping Snow Leopard Vodka, you’re also helping a species in need. Seems like the perfect combination for the season. And if you’re wondering how to start sipping, Sparrow suggests it neat or in a martini. The vodka’s singular flavor also makes it a standout in other cocktails–for an example in the Saving Grace at Ballard’s Sexton, which mixes Snow Leopard Vodka with grenadine, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and orange bitters.

 

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