Kelsey and Iain know there is a huge amount of packaging that is unavoidable in their industry. Having both come from fairly developed countries in terms of recycling and waste programs (Canada and Australia), they were both a little shocked at the way that it is dealt with in London, which definitely isn’t as good. Often, recycling and garbage get thrown into the same bin with little regard for a need for change. They knew they couldn’t address this side of it alone, so they decided to focus on what they can change and make it open-sourced. All their recipes are available on their website with the goal to keep it fun, so that other industry pros, bartenders and owners can take part and have it become a larger conversation. They decided to take in on tour to get a bigger reach and really get people to take part in it all, plus they’ve gotten such a great response it seems the tour just keeps expanding.

Right now their main goal for the tour is to bring awareness to the industry. It has already come far in that you can go to many cocktail bars all over the world and get a great drink, but Iain and Kelsey want to take it one step farther and stop single-use ingredients. There are so many interesting and complex flavours in the things we often take for granted by throwing away, but Trash Tiki hope to put this to an end. By posting all of their recipes they aim to become a resource that bartenders use regularly and can build upon, with ingredients such as leftover apple pulp, citrus peel, avocado pits and pistachio shells. Cool right? The pair hope that in a year these recipes will be well known and the industry can start to tackle more of the large waste issues in the bar world, including the recent surge in greenwashing that can lead people to apathy around the word sustainability. 

‘We want to show that it can still be fun by doing Tiki drinks, playing loud punk music and throwing a party, it gives those that come down some tangible inspiration that they can take away from it all.’

It’s pretty cool. They ask the bar/restaurant where they will be doing the pop-up to start saving would-be-binned off-cuts, pulps and anything else the day prior to the event, and provide a list in advance of what that might be. Kelsey and Iain can start drawing an idea of what the menu will look like from there, using classic tiki recipes as a rough outline for structure. They do have a few ‘classics’ that they really love doing, although they change from city to city depending on what waste is available. One of their favourites is their “Trash Tai’ which uses a homemade curacao (they’ve done both grapefruit and orange), and an ‘orgeat’ (nut syrup) made from almond croissants. That’s right, leftover croissants! They also use those avocado pits and pistacio shells to infuse rum, providing a toasted nutty background flavour. They only post their menu on their Instagram and website, so it always requires some explanation for those who have walked in not knowing what to expect. That being said, people have been getting on board and only leave after at least trying a drink or two!

While Trash Tiki are mostly tackling the food waste side of things at the moment, they are also trying to use bamboo straws when possible (unfortunately they won’t be ready until the US leg of the tour, but they’ll be a staple from that point onwards). They’re excited to see what the future could hold for sustainability in the world of craft cocktails, and until then they’ll keep partying and experimenting with turning waste into wonderful flavours.

Make sure to check out Trash Tiki’s tour dates here to see if they’re hitting a city near you, and check out their blog for a ton of recipes. Their recipes ultimately end up saving you money, and everything is made from ingredients that are already found in most bars and are generally accessible anywhere in the world. I can’t wait to give them a try!

Until next time, stay magic y’all.