Dirty Drinks Are Happening in Portland

Sweet Nothings, one of this weeks Dirty Drinks in Portland. — One of this week’s Dirty Drinks: Sweet Nothings from Scotch Lodge. Photo credit: Scotch Lodge.

Yesterday I became aware of something called “Dirty Drinks.” This nationwide bar and beverage fundraising campaign from Zero Foodprint focuses on the issue of soil health. Ten Portland food and drink businesses are participating this year.

Who Is Zero Foodprint, Anyway?

They are a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to addressing climate change: “restoring the climate, one acre at a time,” specifically focusing on the restaurant sector. From their About page:

“When we got started, we set out to help restaurants reduce their climate impacts. After crunching the numbers, one thing became clear: most of a meal’s greenhouse gas emissions happen before the ingredients even make it to a restaurant. We realized that the fastest way to reduce the emissions in the food system is to change how food is grown.”

They help “chefs, farmers, scientists, and regional governments to work to change the food system from the ground up.” And that is through collective action and promoting regenerative food systems, both supported via Zero Foodprint’s grantmaking activity.

Dirty Drinks

The Dirty Drinks campaign this week is about “connecting the beverage industry back to its agricultural roots.”

The organizers ask the participating businesses to be creative around the concept of a drink that is dirty—probably the most familiar “dirty drink” is the dirty martini, which uses olive brine to disrupt the traditional drink profile. Businesses are encouraged to make drinks that are “flavorous, innovative, and probably a little punny.”

So, from now to Monday, September 1, visit participating locations—bars and restaurants here in Portland—to enjoy their interpretation of a dirty drink. And for each drink sold, $1 goes directly to support grants for farmers involved in projects that build healthy soil, which benefits everyone.

Dirty Drinks Participants in Portland

Here are the 10 bars and restaurants participating in Dirty Drinks this year. I’ve included the details on their drinks, when available.

Bauman’s on Oak, 930 SE Oak Street. Bauman’s on Oak website
Comala, 422 NW 8th Avenue. Comala website
Heavenly Creatures, 2218 NE Broadway. Heavenly Creatures website
Kachka, 960 SE 11th Avenue. Kachka website
Kooks, 3932 N Mississippi Avenue. Kooks website
Magna Kusina, Duma: Blueberry aigre-doux, basil, Irish whiskey, lemon, iced tea. 2525 SE Clinton Street. Magna Kusina website
Noble Rot, Shiso Rickey: Freeland Gin, Accompani Blue Doris, red shisho, purple basil, lime, soda. 1111 E Burnside Street, Fourth Floor. Noble Rot website
Nostrana, 1401 SE Morrison Street, Suite 101. Nostrana website
Pacific Standard, Mudslide: Stoli vanilla vodka, PX sherry, Bailey’s, Kahlua, and fresh cream. 100 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Pacific Standard website
Scotch Lodge, Sweet Nothings: overripe peach infused gin, tomato scrap dry vermouth, saline, basil stem-black pepper tincture. 215 SE 9th Avenue, Suite 102. Scotch Lodge website