COLUMNS
30 May 2019 _ PopularMechanics.com
↓SPIRITS
WHEN WE WERE planning Marble, my husband
and I visited about 50 other distilleries. We were
shocked by the amount of water and energy loss
in this industry. Unlike urban distilleries, which
are often in repurposed buildings, we undertook
a ground-up project in a vacant lot because we
wanted to follow green building specifications
and build a first-of-its-kind sustainable distillery.
Today we are a zero-waste facility.
It’s about the water. We are incredibly proud
of our pristine water, hauled from our own well
in Marble, Colorado. That water comes from the
headwaters of the fast-moving Crystal River,
which drains from a glacial valley and is mainly
filtered through Yule marble. (Trivia: The Yule
Marble quarry was the source for
the white marble used to create the
Lincoln Memorial columns and
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.)
Yule marble is a metamorphized
limestone, which makes for a per-
fect filtration system, adding a bit
of natural minerality (nutrients
that add to the final taste) into
our spirits.
Marble Distilling designed
and built a first-of-its-kind water energy ther-
mal system. The system recycles 100 percent of
the water we use in a closed-loop reuse system—
meaning the water can be recycled indefinitely
without degradation of properties. It then har-
vests all the energy off that (hot) water for reuse
in our building. In 2016 we saved more than four
million gallons of water and reclaimed 1.8 bil-
lion Btus—enough energy to power 20 homes—to
reuse in our building.
The bottom line: We love spirits but don’t want
to destroy the planet when we make them. We say
we’re working to save the planet one bottle at a time.
If any other distillers are reading this, come visit
us. We love to share what we’ve learned.In 2015 Marble won a
$197,000 grant from the
U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture for water conservation
and energy efficiency.The distillery was built
to 85 percent green
code specifications.In 2017, the Sierra Club
called Marble’s Gingercello
one of “Six Spirits to Help
Toast the Planet’s Health.”GINGERCELLO
A lightly sweetened
version of the Italian
classic with citrus
brightness and some
ginger spiciness.VODKA 80
Locally grown soft
white wheat and
malted barley, distilled
six times in copper
pots, yields a smooth
and creamy texture.FOUNDER
Connie Baker,
Head Distiller
DISTILLERY
Marble Distilling Co.
Carbondale,
ColoradoTHE NEW
ECO SPIRITSOH, AND THE PRODUCT? FANTASTIC.MOONLIGHT EXPRESSO
Uses locally roasted
Guatemalan coffee and
Ugandan vanilla beans
for a rich, dark coffee
profile with a smoky,
chocolate finish.Fine Spirits,
No Carbon
Footprint
A zero-waste distillery saves four million gallons
of water per year—and makes delicious stuff.
/ AS TOLD TO FRANCINE MAROUKIAN /
Baker stirs bourbon mash
in an open cypress-wood
fermenter. Variation in the
ambient conditions gives
the finished spirits a unique
sense of place.