Protecting the Sustainability of the American White Oak

Guest blog Wes Henderson, Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Angel’s Envy

Last year, more than 1.8 million wooden barrels were filled with bourbon in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. In order to be a true bourbon, by law, that liquid must be aged in new, charred, American oak barrels.

As the popularity of bourbon increases, so does the need for new bourbon barrels. The good news is that the American white oak tree is a highly sustainable variety, and companies like ours are working hard to restore forests to support the local environments and ensure that there will be plenty of bourbon barrels for future generations of whiskey lovers.

On Sept. 1, we kicked off National Bourbon Heritage Month with Toast the Trees, a social media campaign designed to promote sustainability of the American white oak tree. We’re encouraging consumers and fans to snap a picture of their Angel’s Envy drink or bottle and share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #AE4THETREES. Angel’s Envy will then plant one tree for every photo shared with the #AE4THETREES hashtag during the month of September.

For the fourth annual ‘Toast the Trees’ campaign we’ve set an aggressive goal– to plant at least 10,000 new trees—and we’re proud to continue our partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and Green Forests Work to do this great work. In 2017, we planted 6,670 trees and with your help, we’re hoping to beat that number this year.

You’re invited to participate by snapping a photo of your Angel’s Envy drink or bottle, and look for Toast the Trees events in many markets across the country. For more information, please visit our website for Toast the Trees.

Together, let’s drink up a forest.