ANGEL’S ENVY®, the Louisville-based craft distiller that produces small batch, finished whiskeys, today announced its goal of planting 30,000 new white oak trees through its annual “Toast the Trees” initiative, hosted in honor of National Bourbon Heritage Month each September. As part of “Toast the Trees,” ANGEL’S ENVY pledges to plant one white oak tree for every photo of an ANGEL’S ENVY drink or bottle posted throughout the month of September on social media (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) using the hashtag #ToastTheTrees. ANGEL’S ENVY has increased its goal by 10,000 hashtags this year to further secure the white oak population and, in turn, the future of distilling for generations to come.
“White oak sustainability is incredibly important to the Angel’s Envy family, and we’re proud to call some attention to the cause across the bourbon community through our ‘Toast the Trees’ initiative,” said Wes Henderson, ANGEL’S ENVY Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer. “After seeing our fans rise to the occasion to help us not just hit, but exceed our target of planting 20,000 trees in 2018, we’re excited to raise our goal this year by another 10,000 and continue to do our part to support a healthy white oak population and, in turn, the future growth of bourbon.”
Bourbon must legally be aged in new oak barrels, and the white oak tree is the most common type harvested for North American cooperages. Each white oak tree yields between one and three barrels and takes about 70 years to mature. ANGEL’S ENVY launched “Toast the Trees” in 2014 in an effort to raise awareness for the increased need for a healthy and secure white oak tree population, particularly as bourbon’s popularity continues to grow both in the U.S. and internationally.
In 2018, ANGEL’S ENVY’s “Toast the Trees” initiative garnered 20,724 hashtags that resulted in 20,724 new white oak trees planted in spring 2019. Since the program’s inception, ANGEL’S ENVY has planted nearly 45,000 new white oak trees throughout eastern Kentucky and the surrounding Appalachian areas with the Arbor Day Foundation and Green Forests Work.
“We are thrilled by our continued partnership with Angel’s Envy,” said Dan Lambe, President, Arbor Day Foundation. “We salute Angel’s Envy’s commitment to responsible forestry and educating America on the importance of tree planting.”
Trees from this year’s “Toast the Trees” program will be planted in spring 2020.