A Sustainable Bar, yes it exists!

I went to a bar with a “stinky room.” Yes, really. I’ll explain more about that later in the post, but now that I have your attention, let me tell you about the experience.

The Entrance

This is the entrance to Penicillin.

It’s tucked away and has the vibe of speakeasy meets laboratory. Just wait until you see what greets you once you walk through the door.

Stepping Inside

As soon as you step foot inside Penicillin, it feels like you’ve entered a mad scientists lab.

We asked all about this set up, and honestly I didn’t understand all of it, but what I did comprehend was that they were using this contraption to somehow infuse whiskey with oyster shells. Their goal is to truly reduce food waste as much as possible by using every last bit in a closed-loop system.

The Decor

This wall of liquor along with veggie and fruit infusions is truly stunning. The labels on all of the bottles are made in-house from recycling paper and leftover ingredients.

AND EXCUSE ME…

but look at these tables *cue jaw drop, I’m obsessed!

In September of 2018, Typhoon Mangkhut uprooted tens of thousands of trees in Hong Kong. All of the tables in Penicillin are made from these fallen trees showcasing that this bar is truly upcycling and repurposing as much as possible.

The “Stinky Room”

So, what in the world is a “stinky room?” It’s a fermentation room.

If the discarded ingredients are not used for cocktail garnishes, the scraps are taken to the fermentation room to create their “Organic Ferments” which I would describe as similar to a “hard” kombucha.

I ordered the “Cider” which was apple, spiced honey, and pineapple, fermented for 10 days. It was slightly carbonated and ultra refreshing.

The Menu

Penicillin has a closed-loop bar concept, meaning they use food waste that was created during the production of another menu item with the goal of reusing everything. It’s truly mindblowing and I’ll give you some more examples here.

Their entire menu is also based on the seasonality of ingredients to truly minimize food waste and I love that they have an ever-changing menu that adapts to the availability of the ingredients of the season from their local suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of importing goods.

THE FIRST DRINK I ORDERED

“One Penicillin, One Tree” is a climate-positive cocktail. One native tree is planted in the endangered Kalimantan Rainforest in Borneo, Indonesia for every cocktail served…so I’ll take 10? This cocktail (pictured below on the left) was served with a frozen avocado stone, which replaced the ice. Seriously what a cool way to use every part of the avocado and also fairly chic, like I’d love to use this at dinner parties when serving a margarita or something like that.

THE SNACKS WE ORDERED

We ordered fries served with a lemongrass mayo and also received bar snacks that were the upcycled potato peels! Talk about using the entire potato. I’ve never met a potato product I didn’t like so I wasn’t mad about it.

Actually ordering a cocktail will reduce carbon emissions.

Penicillin has partnered with a closed-loop spirits company that eliminates single-use glass bottles. Each cocktail made with one of these spirits saves about 150 g of carbon emissions.

Final Thoughts

During the experience, my friends and I joked that we felt like we were in a Parks and Rec episode. For all my Leslie Knope fans out there, you know the one where Tom takes Ben for his Bachelor party to “Essence”(a bar that specializes in "molecular mixology"), and they order cocktails served as whiskey-infused lotion, Nimbus Martini aromasphere, and Bud Light cotton candy.

BUT

I had an amazing time! The staff was so excited about everything and took the time to explain the entire menu and processes to our entire table. I was in sustainability heaven, and the drinks were delicious. I should also mention what a thrill it was to see the facial expressions on my friends’ faces as they were describing the various ingredients in the drinks. It was delightfully absurd and fascinating, and I’m so glad they indulged me in going to this sustainable bar!