istil38 Premium Irish Vodka

Our work is to establish and conserve permanent native woodland in Ireland, encouraging land regeneration and biodiversity. What inspired you to work with Hometree?
From the very start of this journey with istil38 Premium Vodka we were conscious that we wanted to build in a social and responsible piece to the business. We looked at a few different options, but ultimately, we decided that the climate crisis is the most impending and one we could contribute towards.

We liked Hometree because of the long-term outlook. They weren’t just looking to plant 100’s of fast-growing trees, but they were looking to bring indigenous Irish tress back to their natural habitat. This slower more thoughtful process aligned with our own philosophy of quicker doesn’t mean better. We are handcrafted, not so we can say we are handcrafted, but because it produces a better vodka. We believe Hometree’s philosophy will produce a better long term sustainable solution to climate change and soil erosion.

You will not see some of the trees you are planting reach maturity, what has inspired such a long term vision?
Most of the biggest Irish Global Brands founders are no longer around, Arthur Guinness and John Jameson to name two, but their brands outlive them and are still enjoyed by generation after generation. 

I hope I am when istil becomes a global brand, but if I am not I will take great pleasure in the thought that my great grandkids get to live off the brand that we want to create. 

Starting to build a brand is like planting a tree, you hope that it grows to be big and strong, but to actually do that with a brand it takes generations.

Have there been any key moments you can share about how you or your organisation decided to support a more abundant and healthier world?
We are a new organisation; our goal is to build a fun but premium Vodka brand that is socially aware.

We want to build a brand of premium hand-crafted Irish Vodka, but there is no reason that we can’t look to do our bit to help preserve the planet for the generations to come. There is no point in trying to build a brand that has longevity, if the planet isn’t in a state to enjoy our brand.

As we say on our bottle, we like our planet like we like our Vodka - crisp, cool and clean.

Would you like to share any key lessons life has taught you?
The harder you work the luckier you get!!