Made In Los Angeles, Crusoe Rum Is Eco-Friendly And Charitable

Husband-and-wife duo Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew didn't set out to be environmental pioneers.

In 2005, the two began a spirits company in Monrovia, where they made things like chocolate-orange or black truffle vodka, and then moved on to organic vodka (Tru) and flavored liqueurs (Fruit Lab).

But their new Crusoe Rum has raised the bar for both flavor and environmentalism.

Named after castaway Robinson Crusoe, the original expert in sustainability, Crusoe Rum begins with fair-trade sugarcane that's distilled in stainless-steel vats. And unlike most mass-produced rums, these aren't charcoal-filtered and pumped with flavoring and coloring agents.

Even the packaging conserves resources: The bottles use less glass than most, and the labels are made of biodegradable paper instead of plastic.

The smooth, mellow silver rum is ideal for mojitos and margaritas, while the spiced rum is more complex, rounded out with vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and orange zest. Use it in this easy, warm-weather sour (click here to download the recipe).

Best of all, for each bottle sold, Modern Spirits donates to charity: water to provide one month of clean water to those who need it most around the world.

Now that's worth raising a toast.