Trash Tiki: Getting a Buzz from Sustainability

Cordial from watermelon rinds? Orgeat from avocado pits? If it sounds like you’re drinking compost – you’re not entirely wrong. Veteran bartenders and passionate champions of sustainability, Kelsey Ramage and Iain Griffiths, are changing the way cocktails are crafted by urging bartenders to use every last bit of their fresh ingredients.

Influenced by the loud, thumping, energy-driven bar scene, the husband-and-wife team launched Trash Tiki, an “anti-waste punk pop up” in 2016. They spent 10 months on a world tour organizing pop-up bars that showcased cocktails built with the left-over odds-and-ends otherwise destined for the trash bin, like cucumber pulp, citrus rinds and egg yolks.

Now, the duo has settled in Toronto, where they manage an online platform packed with recipes for the sustainably-minded bartender, both professional and DIYer alike. So quit throwing away those orange peels and make some flavored simple syrup, already!