Diageo tests circular keg and dispense system with Smirnoff Vodka

Diageo is trialing a new keg and integrated bottle dispense system, Everpour, with Smirnoff Vodka at selected bars in and around Dublin, Ireland.

Dave Lutkenhaus, global sustainability innovation director at Diageo, says: “This a huge milestone for Diageo to be trialing our first bespoke Diageo-led developed circular economy system for spirits in the on-trade.” 

“We’ve designed the system building on the years of insights we have from the on-trade with the aim for Everpour to be convenient and desirable for bartenders to use while reducing our carbon emissions. We’re looking forward to seeing the results from the trial to take into our next round of product development.” 

The Everpour trial will partner with seven outlets in and around Dublin and will run for six weeks. It aims to assess the technical feasibility of the Everpour system while gathering customer and consumer feedback. The results from the trial will be assessed and integrated into future versions of Everpour before further expected trials.

The Everpour trial is part of Diageo’s exploration of different solutions for a circular economy.Everpour lifecycle 
The development of Everpour has been led by Diageo’s Breakthrough Innovation team together with industrial design consultancy Hodges & Drake, and features reusable kegs that pipe spirits to a dispensing unit. There are four dispensing options to “best suit the bar environment.”

The system automatically refills the Smirnoff bottle once it is placed in the Everpour unit. Once the keg is empty, it is collected, cleaned and refilled by Diageo before being redistributed to participating bars. 

After its lifespan, the unit will be collected by Diageo and separated for recycling. 

Participating sites in the trial will use stainless-steel kegs in 5 or 17.5 L sizes of Smirnoff vodka. The expected benefits of Everpour include:

• Each keg is anticipated to reduce the use of a minimum of 500 single-use 70 cL glass bottles.
• A potential reduction in carbon emissions by more than 50% per liter of Smirnoff.
• Reducing the time needed to switch out and dispose of empty bottles.
• Minimizing the storage space needed for Smirnoff bottles.

Convenient and sustainable 
Stephanie Jacoby, global vodka senior vice president at Diageo, says: “We’re really excited that Smirnoff is the leading brand on Everpour as we know how important it is to combine convenience for our bartenders and sustainability for our company.”

“We continually push the boundaries of what’s traditional in the drinks trade and look forward to learning more about circularity through this exciting trial.”

The Everpour trial is part of Diageo’s ongoing exploration of different solutions for a more circular economy, depending on market requirements and occasions. It forms part of Diageo’s ongoing work toward its carbon reduction goals in its ESG action plan, Spirit of Progress. 

Recently, Diageo released a “first of its kind” 90% paper-based bottle being trialed for Johnnie Walker Black Label exclusively at the whiskey label’s 1820 Rooftop Bar on Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland.