In good spirits

“Sapling was built on the promise to plant a tree for every bottle sold”

A TREE-PLANTING PROJECT in Scotland led two childhood friends into starting Sapling – a truly sustainable drinks brand.

In their early twenties, Ivo Devereux and Ed Faulkner decided they wanted to start a business together. At the time, Ivo was working in music and Ed in food and drink, but neither felt particularly fulfilled. “We were both passionate about sustainability and the impact we have on our planet,” recalls Ivo. “But we were both aware that the rhetoric at the time was turning people off the conversation, rather than galvanising support for it.”

In search of inspiration, they volunteered for a tree-planting project on the west coast of Scotland. More than 130,000 trees needed planting, a Herculean effort for even the most ardent environmentalists, so the boys set about rallying the locals. Drawing on their expertise, they brought in a sound system, built a makeshift cocktail bar and threw a tree-planting party. “Quite simply, we changed the narrative from, ‘do this amazing thing for the planet,’ to ‘come and have an amazing time with us,’ and it worked a treat. More than 80 people turned up to help.”

 It was a eureka moment. The following year, they set up The Island Festival, a three-day music event on Eilean Shona, in an effort to “make sustainability fun”. Every aspect of the festival was carefully conceived to have some kind positive impact – apart from the booze, it turned out. “We just couldn’t find anything that really existed for sustainability,” says Ivo. “It always felt like an afterthought, something to add value to a brand’s narrative.”

And so Sapling was born in Ed’s kitchen in Peckham in 2018, built on the promise to plant a tree for every bottle sold. More moonshine than the desired potato vodka, the pair’s first homemade batch came out blue, but, unperturbed, they continued to experiment with different recipes, and started working their way round countless distillery tours, soaking up every word. Then they met Charles Maxwell, master distiller at Thames Distillers (and the first inductee to the Gin Magazine Hall of Fame), who quickly convinced the pair to move to a wheat base. “If you’re drinking a potato-based vodka with a meal, it can be a bit harsh or overpowering,” explains Ivo. “You want something smoother and creamier and more biscuity, which is exactly what we’ve achieved.”

With Charles they struck gold. Sapling’s award-winning vodkas and Wildfarmed-wheat gins are so good that we’ve decided to use them across THE PIGs as our house pours. We’ve even started working with Ivo and Ed on a couple of new recipes (but that’s all we’re saying for now) and if they turn out anything like Sapling’s new raspberry and hibiscus vodka – made from “wonky” raspberries to further cut down on waste – we’ll be delighted.

“The key thing for us as a business was always to lead the conversation around sustainability in spirits, so what was deemed best practice back in 2018, for example, could be very outdated now,” says Ivo. Indeed, while Sapling has already planted 110,000 trees and saved 74,224 bottles by offering refills, the boys have quickly come to realise they won’t be able to rest on their laurels. “One of the trickiest but most important parts about being B Corp certified is that we now have to show improvement every year,” grins Ivo. “We’ve got plenty of ideas in the tank, but that is definitely going to keep us on our toes.”

Head over to ours for a tipple made with Sapling, or check out our Bar menu...