MELBOURNE 27 November 2023 ecoSPIRITS licensed operator Proof & Company has expanded its closed loop offering in Australia with the launch of the first vermouth to be available in ecoTOTE™ format. The move, which builds on a ten-year relationship between Proof & Company and Mancino Vermouth, a leading global craft vermouth brand, represents the first time a vermouth has been available in low carbon, low waste circular packaging. The partnership with Mancino Vermouth has been made possible with ecoSPIRITS’ new circular wine technology, which offers lifecycle preservation for wines and vermouth from production to point of service. Mancino Vermouth in ecoTOTE format is now available in the first Australian venues.

Mancino Vermouth is the first vermouth available in ecoTOTE format.

Mancino Vermouth was selected as the vermouth category launch partner for ecoSPIRITS’ circular packaging system. The brand, created by legendary Italian bartender, Giancarlo Mancino, is known for being a product of exceptional quality and refined character. Mancino is produced through the fortification of a delicate Trebbiano di Romana wine and the infusion of 38 aromatic herbs, resulting in a full-bodied 16% ABV vermouth. In 2021, the brand was acquired by The Lucano Group, the world renowned Italian amaro and spirits company.

Mancino Vermouth is made using the finest hand-picked spices and botanicals.

Vermouth is a fortified wine – part of the ‘aromatised’ wine family – and it is traditionally drunk as an aperitivo, before a meal. This botanical drink has been popular for many years in Italy, Spain and France, and in recent years this trend has spread to Australia. Popular in the bar world, Mancino Vermouth is often used as an ingredient for cocktails such as the Negroni, the Manhattan, martinis and summer spritzes. Leading Asia Pacific independent spirits distributor, Proof & Company, has been distributing Mancino Vermouth to bars, hotels and restaurants across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China for more than 10 years.

Vermouth is popular as a cocktail ingredient for drinks such as the Negroni and the Manhattan.

Mancino Vermouth is now available in the stone grey ecoTOTE 3.0W which forms part of ecoSPIRITS’ circular wine technology. The wine version of ecoSPIRITS closed loop system has been designed to eliminate single use glass, while also delivering hygiene, oxidation, temperature and ultraviolet light protection to wines and vermouth. Vermouth ecoTOTEs are processed at an ecoPLANT 2.0W, which has been upgraded to support bottling of wines and vermouths. The upgraded ecoPLANT generates high purity nitrogen gas for vermouth blanketing and preservation once in the ecoTOTE. Venues receiving their Mancino Vermouth in ecoTOTE format can refill branded Mancino bottles using a SmartPour™, in the same way that venues work with spirits in ecoTOTE format.

The first venues in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Sydney have already started receiving Mancino Vermouth in ecoTOTE format delivered by Proof & Company. Early Melbourne-based pioneers include Chinatown’s contemporary whisky and cocktail bar, One or Two Bar, and Continental Deli in Hawthorn. Meanwhile, Hilton Sydney’s Zeta Cocktail Bar is one of the early adopters of this technology in Sydney.

Hilton Sydney’s popular cocktail destination, Zeta Bar, is now taking Mancino Vermouth in ecoTOTE format.

Hayden Hughes, General Manager, Hilton Sydney (Zeta Cocktail Bar)

“Recently partnering with Mancino Vermouth and, in particular, Mancino in ecoSPIRITS form, aligns with Hilton’s 2030 sustainability goals, which (among other key targets) heroes the reduction of single use materials. At Hilton Sydney, our focus on sustainability is geared toward key areas such as waste management, water efficiency, use of eco-friendly materials and energy usage, and we are thrilled to now also be supporting the use of ecoSPIRITS on property.”

Giancarlo Mancino, Founder and Owner of Mancino Vermouth

“I am very proud and excited to be a part of this collaboration with ecoSPIRITS. And being the first vermouth brand in the world to be low carbon and low waste is a step forward in making a difference to our footprint as a business. With ecoSPIRITS’ determination in driving the sustainability message I’m sure we shall all be a huge success, opening further doors in the future for a perfect, no nonsense alternative. Salute!”

Vienna Thompson, Chief Marketing Officer, Proof & Company

“We’re thrilled that our long-term brand partner Mancino Vermouth joins forces with the ecoSPIRITS technology – this underscores our shared commitment for a future where spirit excellence meets environmental responsibility. And we’re extremely proud to be the first to launch this in the Australian market.”

James Wynn-Williams, ecoSPIRITS Sales Manager for Asia Pacific

“Aperitivo-style drinks are popular in Australia currently, and many of the country’s top cocktail bars are seeing good sales of cocktails such as Negronis, Vermouth Highballs and Spritzes, so by offering vermouth in ecoTOTE format Proof & Company can now help venues across Australia to dramatically reduce their single use glass bottle waste. We are delighted that the respected brand Mancino is now the world’s first vermouth in circular packaging.”

For media inquiries or general information about ecoSPIRITS, please contact Sonya Hook, Senior PR Manager, at [email protected].

About Mancino Vermouth

Mancino Vermouth was born in 2011 in a small family-run distillery in Asti, Piedmont. The distillery, established over 60 years ago in 1957, inspired Giancarlo Mancino, owner of the brand, to compose his own vermouth using only the finest hand-picked spices and botanicals. From the moment you pick up the bottle, its classic look and feel, together with the bittersweet concoctions awaiting inside, impress upon you the timeless character that make Mancino Vermouth an integral part of the world’s finest cocktail bars.

For more information, please visit www.mancinovermouth.com.

About Proof & Company

Proof & Company is one of Asia Pacific’s leading independent spirits companies, merging a disruptive approach to independent spirits distribution with a team of highly regarded bartenders and educators, a customer-focused mindset, and the region’s leading hospitality clients. From offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Auckland and Christchurch, Proof & Company manages the exclusive distribution of a portfolio of independent spirits, craft cocktail ingredients, and premium bar tools and glassware. Proof Creative’s award-winning team of Senior Bar Consultants is one of the most well-regarded creative teams in the cocktail and spirits community globally. Together they guide the development of bars for clients across Asia Pacific. Four of these bars ranked in the World’s 50 Best Bars list of 2020 and eight in the Asia’s 50 Best Bars List 2021, including Proof & Company’s own cocktail bar, 28 HongKong Street in Singapore.

For more information, please visit https://proofandcompany.com/.

About ecoSPIRITS

ecoSPIRITS is a circular economy technology company that has developed the world’s first closed loop packaging system for premium spirits and wine. Our patent-pending system nearly eliminates all packaging waste in the supply chain. By dramatically reducing packaging and transport, ecoSPIRITS provides both a powerful cost advantage and a transformative carbon footprint reduction. Founded in Singapore in 2018, the ecoSPIRITS technology is now available in more than 23 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. Almost 2,000 leading bars, restaurants, hotels and retailers have adopted the technology, including Michelin-starred restaurants, World’s 50 Best and Asia’s 50 Best bars and iconic hotels. ecoSPIRITS is now rapidly building a global network of closed loop service, with coverage to grow to 27 countries worldwide by late 2023. Together with our brand partners, importers, distributors, wholesalers, venues, and retailers, we are already making a difference. Each year, ecoSPIRITS and our partners are eliminating hundreds of tons of single use glass waste, planting tens of thousands of trees, and inspiring others to change.

For more information, please visit: https://ecospirits.global/.