No Bad Apples: Ugly Vodka is Peeling Away at Food Waste

Australian brand Ugly has created a new, innovative way of making spirits all while helping to save the environment. Raise you glass to Ugly Vodka.

One-third of all food produced goes to waste. This includes food that consumers throw away before expiry or food that never reaches stores because it’s “ugly”. Most farms throw out up to 40% of their produce because supermarkets don’t want it if the size, shape or colour is “wrong”.

Ugly is changing that. They’re taking the wonky apples and turning them into Ugly Vodka. The starch in apples is similar to the starch found in potatoes, meaning that they can be distilled into vodka without compromising on taste. When apples get turned into alcohol, the flavour evaporates. No apple-flavoured vodka here! With a combination of 50% apples and 50% wheat, Ugly Vodka is distilled five times so it can be used with any mixer without any fruity taste.

Ugly said they plan to stay 100% local with a distillery in Melbourne and apples sourced from the Goulburn Valley. This means helping local farmers while saving the environment, with less emissions from the transportation of produce.

In terms of environmental impact, did you know that food in landfill produces methane gas when it rots? One batch of Ugly Vodka saves 20 tonnes of apples from landfill, and they’ve even worked out how to make a bottle that uses 30% less glass than usual.

Ugly Vodka’s limited first-run drop is available on their website for $64.99 per bottle.

Have you got a unique way of reducing food waste? Let us know in the comments.