Bulleit Hosted an Eco-Concious Event in LA—Here’s How They Did It

LOS ANGELES—To celebrate the release of a short film titled A Toast To The Times by poet J. Ivy and director Carlos Lopez Estrada, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey hosted a party during the lead-up to the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 at The Revery in Los Angeles. (J. Ivy won a Grammy for best spoken-word poetry album this year. He was the category’s first winner.)

The film is part of The Bulleit Pioneer Project, the brand’s multi-year commitment to champion and amplify those breaking new ground across art, sustainability, food, and technology, with the zero-waste premiere party speaking to Bulleit’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

“We have a fundamental belief that anything that we use, we need to replenish,” said Johannah Rogers, global brand director for Bulleit Frontier Whiskey. She added that it’s important for the brand “as good global citizens,” noting the brand’s ongoing partnership with American Forests to replenish white oak trees, which are used in whiskey production.

This philosophy translated into upcycled furniture, root-to-stem utilization of food, and a partnership with the city of LA on waste management and Compostable, a community compost company that helped get landmark reform passed in 2022 "that aims to transform the state's throwaway culture—not to just ease pressure on landfills but to reduce the climate-warming fallout of our trashy norm," according to the Los Angeles Times. The company assisted with separating, hauling, and breaking down the materials used at the event. By partnering with Compostable, Bulleit was able to collect 265 pounds of food scraps, coconuts (from the cocktails), and disposables that could be broken down and turned into nutrients.

“We have a planet-first mindset," Rogers explained. "When you brief an event, we want to make sure that it's briefed in a way that the aesthetic itself is more sustainable and more environmentally conscious."

All of the produce for the event was sourced from within 30 miles of the venue from eco-conscious purveyors, and was served on recycled plates and even palm leaves, allowing the event to minimize food-related waste.Photo: Courtesy of Bulleit Frontier WhiskeyIn order to make sure the catering and cocktails were as sustainable as possible, chef Josh Gil and mixologist Stephanie Reading collaborated, aligning on menu ideas. For example, if coconuts were being used in the food, the coconut juice and shell would be used for the cocktails. Because similar items like garnishes, syrups, and ingredients were being used to craft both the signature cocktails and the food, less was wasted. Plus, all the produce was sourced from within 30 miles of the event venue from eco-conscious purveyors, and was served on recycled plates and even palm leaves, allowing the event to minimize food-related waste even more.

New York-based designer and builder Jimmy DiResta created furniture pieces for the event using 100-year-old doors and recycled metal table legs.Photo: Courtesy of Bulleit Frontier WhiskeyAs for the decor, Bulleit enlisted New York-based designer and builder Jimmy DiResta to create the furniture pieces, including the bar, using 100-year-old doors and recycled metal table legs. “My favorite piece has to be the bar. I salvaged the wood from my family’s farm that was built in 1790,” he said. “It’s just so cool to see materials have brand-new lives through our designs and creations.” Adding that, he recycled the metal used in one of the Bulleit logos from the floorboard of an International Harvester Scout vehicle he found in a junkyard. LA-based Sunbeam Vintage also provided pieces that were dotted throughout the space.

“Too often perfectly good materials go to waste because people don’t want to spend time imagining what they could be,” DiResta said. “I love to see old materials transformed into new designs and products. It's the story I love to tell—about the former life of the materials, what it was and what it has become.”

The brand also decided to host the event at The Revery because of its showroom kitchen and prep kitchen, which allowed Bulleit to minimize its carbon footprint by making the food and drink at one space as opposed to making and transporting it from another location. Plus, the venue uses energy efficient appliances, and the open indoor/outdoor design helped to cut down on air conditioning.

Although she said the cost of the premiere party was comparable to other similar events, Rogers did acknowledge that “being more conscious about the environment costs money,” saying that “that's what hinders a lot of companies.”

The Feb. 2 event was held at The Revery in Los Angeles.Photo: Courtesy of Bulleit Frontier Whiskey

The event was hosted by Anisa Brenee, and included DJ sets from DJ OHSO and Siobhan Bell (pictured) and a live performance by Col3trane.Photo: Courtesy of Bulleit Frontier Whiskey

The event celebrated the release of a short film titled A Toast To The Times by poet J. Ivy (pictured) and director Carlos Lopez Estrada. J. Ivy won a Grammy for best spoken-word poetry album this year. He was the category’s first winner.Photo: Courtesy of Bulleit Frontier Whiskey