The World’s First Certified Fair Trade Spirit Brand Offers More Rum Choices

Quick Take: Fair Trade Certified spirits brand, FAIR, has added two new options to its range with a Muscavado Sugar rum and Paraguay Rum XO. Given their French heritage and ethical practices, it seems only natural to highlight them in our Eco-bar series.

The Fair Trade Certified spirits brand, FAIR, continues to grow, adding two new rum options to their offerings. For the Muscavado rum, FAIR imports organic whole, unrefined cane sugar from Mauritius and then distills it in Cognac to create a fun, funky white rum with character that shines through in a daiquiri or a Ti’punch. While the Paraguay Rum XO, is a fresh and easy going blend of 2 to 5 year rums made from organic molasses which makes for a tasty Dark’n’Stormy.

Founded in 2009, FAIR isn’t an entirely new name in the cocktail game, especially to those who have been playing in the Paris scene for the last decade. But for those who aren’t already aware of it but are interested in eco-drinks trends, it’s a brand worth noting. This French spirits company is dedicated to ethical and sustainable sourcing and first drew attention with a Quinoa based vodka spotted on the shelves of the bars involved in revival of Paris’ craft cocktails like the ECC. Not only did they get on board with the new cocktail trends, but also with a growing interest in more socially responsible practices as a company that believes “that all the people involved, in every stage of the process, should be treated equally.”  Having just a handful of members on the FAIR team plus founder Alexandre Koiransky who “follows his own intuition, his love for people, his heart” in the making of their products surely makes it a little easier to stick close to the company’s ethos.

Alexandre Koiransky, FAIR founder

So what exactly does it mean to be a Fair Trade certified spirits brand? The company invests significant time in sourcing Fair Trade certified ingredients from all over the world like quinoa from the Altiplano plateau, sugar cane from Belize, arabica from Mexico, or natural juniper berries from Uzbekistan. Ingredients are then shipped to France for distillation. All in all, there are about 200 rules to which they adhere, which mainly involve ensuring the farmers from which they source make a decent living and cover their production costs as well as being able to educate their children and work towards building schools.

Though their first product, FAIR Vodka, may still be the most popular, the range has expanded over the past several years. They currently offer a gin, a few rums and a selection of liqueurs including a kumquat (their unique take on a citrus liqueur, since orange has already been done.) When looking to develop new products they strive for something both practical and unique that can be sourced within their Fair Trade regulations. They’ve got plenty on the go, but I’m told it’s unlikely that we’ll see whisky, agave based spirits or vermouth coming from them soon.


In Paris, you can taste FAIR spirits in some of the bars coming from young entrepreneurs who share their fresh vision and focus on quality products like le Perchoir, Monsieur Antoine or the groups Savoir Vivre (Vivant, Deviant, Da Graziella, Hotel Bourbon) as well as SLJ (Grazie, Professore, Hotel National des Arts et Metiers, l’Altro, Pizza Chic, Les Cailloux). You can also buy the full range from la Maison du Whisky or consult their online shopping section to source it in the US, Japan or other areas of Europe (limited range available outside of France).

So grab a bottle, make yourself a drink and raise a glass to a more ethical manner of cocktail consumption.


FAIR Daiquiri

4cl FAIR Muscovado Rum

2cl Fresh lime juice

1cl simple syrup

Add all to ice filled shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with lime peel.

 

FAIR Dark’N’Stormy

Fill a tumbler with ice

Add 4cl FAIR Paraguay Rum XO

Top with ginger beer

Add a few drops of Angostura bitters

Garnish with a lime wedge

FAIR spirits website

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