- 9 mins
Las Torres Patagonia is all about sustainability. For years now, we have been committed to promoting environmentally friendly tourism with a focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling. An outstanding example of this is our Pionero Bar, a cocktail lounge that stands out for its dedication to nature and responsible use of resources.
Recycled glass bottles
As a cocktail bar, one of our most used resources are bottles, which are constantly being emptied, each one leaving behind 350 to 450 grams of glass waste. The head bartender at Pionero Bar, Federico Gil, recognized this problem and decided to take advantage of this resource, transforming kilos of empty bottles into recycled glasses.
With a glass cutting machine, Federico transforms bottles of wine, water, pisco, and all kinds of liquors into a wide range of glasses of different sizes that can be used both to prepare and to store and serve the bar's specialty cocktails.
Copper straws
According to figures from the Chilean Ministry of the Environment, a plastic straw takes 1 minute to manufacture and has a life span of 20 minutes, but takes 200 years to decompose. Likewise, the improper disposal of this item has transformed it into the seventh most common waste found on the world's coasts, where it has a negative impact on a variety of species of marine fauna.
Mindful of the serious damage caused by the use of these plastic utensils, Federico designs and produces a whole range of copper straws. These can be reused countless times and, due to the metal’s special properties, have the added benefit of keeping drinks ice-cold as they go up the straw to your lips, as well as antimicrobial properties that allow them to be used safely for long periods of time.
Pionero Bar, as its name suggests, has been a pioneer in replacing plastic straws with copper ones, an initiative that began in 2010 in Torres del Paine. This initiative led to a public policy called “Goodbye Straws.”
Composting in our garden
One of our goals at Las Torres Patagonia is to create a circular economy, a loop in which nothing is wasted and everything is recirculated in the production cycle, one way or another. It’s a long road, but at Pionero Bar we continue to make progress towards this horizon.
To do so, our kitchen takes care to sort the waste produced by each of our recipes to carefully separate what can be used for compost in our biointensive vegetable garden and nourish the soil for future crops.
Zero-waste cocktails
Because caring for the environment goes hand in hand with raising awareness of the effects of climate change, Federico has also designed a new cocktail for the bar that aims to both symbolize the climate crisis and help reduce waste.
Federico created a drink that is served in an edible glass made of cookie dough coated with an inner layer of white chocolate, in which he serves a gin-based cocktail called Andiperla. It's the perfect drink to finish off lunch or dinner as it is a digestif and dessert all in one, and it leaves behind not an ounce of waste.
The drink is served warm and then topped with a sphere of crushed ice, which then begins to melt and cool the elixir. Federico explains that “this finishing touch is a symbol of a reality that we cannot ignore: the shrinking of the glaciers, which threatens the natural habitat of classic Patagonian fauna such as the Andiperla, an insect that can survive living among the glaciers found in Torres del Paine.”
Craft beer and gin
Pionero Bar also makes the beer and gin served at the bar: Pionera beer and Tierra Paine gin. So, if you are visiting Hotel Las Torres and want to enjoy a refreshing drink made locally in Torres del Paine, don't forget to order one of these.
Pionera beer is brewed with traditional techniques and local ingredients. Federico Gil runs his own brewery next to the biointensive orchard, allowing him to easily transport the barley used in the beer to the compost bin, thus providing another input to produce fertile soil.
Meanwhile, Tierra Paine gin uses meltwater from Mount Cerro Paine, which imparts the flavors and minerals of the springs that run through the national park. Don’t miss the chance to try it—this is a gin that you can only find at Las Torres Patagonia.
Come down and visit the unique Pionero Bar, the most sustainable bar in Patagonia, and enjoy its singular flavors while doing your part to protect the environment.
