The Holistic Spirits Company’s goal to redefine the alcohol industry with all-natural botanical formulations may be ambitious. Still, co-founders Amy Holmwood and actor and environmentalist Woody Harrelson, have no doubts they’ll get it done.
If you only know Woody Harrelson from his four decades of blockbuster movie and television roles, you’re missing out on what may prove to be his biggest legacy — a staunch commitment to making the world a better place. Nearly as long as Harrelson’s been on our screens, the award-winning actor, whose career spans from the ’80s sitcom “Cheers” to 1994’s “Natural Born Killers,” 2014’s “True Detective” and recent releases like “White House Plumbers” and “Man From Toronto,” has been an outspoken advocate for climate action, animal rights, cannabis access, and conservation efforts, among other causes. His efforts put him in good company alongside other Hollywood A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio, Jane Fonda, Jason Momoa, Ian Somerhalder, and Nikki Reed, who all double as activists. But Harrelson has always stood out from the pack with a true walk-the-talk commitment that, much like his film and television performances, gets better the longer he’s at it.
Harrelson has lent his voice to numerous projects like documentaries including 2020’s “Kiss the Ground” and its successor, 2023’s “Common Ground” — both about regenerative agriculture — as well as 2011’s “Ethos: A Time for Change” about ethical consumerism, and 2003’s “Go Further” which followed Harrelson in a bio-diesel powered bus on his quest to live more sustainably. A vegan for more than 30 years, Harrelson, now 62, has campaigned for animal rights organization PETA. He wrote the forward to chef brothers Chad and Derek Sarno’s 2018 vegan “Wicked Healthy Cookbook.” He even petitioned the Pope to encourage Catholics to give up meat.
Harrelson has also backed a number of ethical businesses that align with his ethos. In 2021, along with fellow Texas native, actor Owen Wilson, Harrelson invested in the plant-based meat brand, Abbot’s Butcher. He’s a backer of the Los Angeles-based vegan eatery Sage Bistro, as well as founder of West Hollywood’s popular cannabis outlet The Woods and its neighboring eco spirits bar, Holy Water. Now, Harrelson is joining in on another Hollywood trend: launching a spirits company. (Once again, he’s in good company: George Clooney, Eva Longoria, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Brad Pitt, as well as Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul have all launched spirit labels.)
The Holistic Spirits Company
The Holistic Spirits Company is unique. It claims to be the “world’s first” plant-powered holistic spirits company. Harrelson and co-founder Amy Holmwood have tapped into the zeitgeist and the growing demand for healthier adult beverages. But it’s not a marketing ploy; Holistic Spirits is backed by years of science and offers “clean” alcohol that the founders say is better for your body and the planet. The label currently produces two spirits: Origen Vodka and Harmony Gin.
After tasting the Origen vodka, Harrelson said he knew he was meant to help bring exposure to the company. “For years I’ve wondered who was going to come along and put my favorite superfoods into spirits,” Harrelson says. “I think it’s a marvelous thing that Amy came up with, and I admire her sense of purpose. It was a no-brainer to get involved from the start.”
Sourcing the proprietary, natural blend of superfoods used in the spirits was the result of years of trial and error, Holmwood says. After the team landed on the final formula for Origen Specialty Vodka, she was introduced to Harrelson through his agent, a mutual friend, and a bottle of Origen “ended up in Woody’s lap.” Holmwood says Harrelson finished the bottle with his wife Laura and “felt great” the next day. “From there we bonded over a mutual goal of bringing a better quality alcohol to consumers and he came on as a partner shortly after,” Holmwood says.
The company officially launched last fall with its first two offerings — the Origen Vodka that hooked Harrelson, and Harmony Gin — both free from artificial ingredients, added sugars, and GMOs. Achieving what the company says is a perfect blend of science, nature, and artisanal distillation, Holistic Spirits incorporates a diverse range of plants and botanicals. Following four years of testing, the company has now secured a patent pending for its innovative alcohol composition, and recently, it was awarded the coveted Innovation Award at the prestigious international SIP Competition, along with a Gold Medal for its exceptional taste. The label was also recently accepted into the Positive Luxury Accelerator Program.
“My motivation is really to revolutionize the spirits industry and that stems from my lifelong experience with wellness,” Holmwood told Ethos. “I’ve overcome my own health issues through holistic methods and went back to school to attain a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology Enterprise from John Hopkins University and a Nutrition Sciences Certification from the Stanford Center for Health Education.”
Holmwood says some people might label her a fanatic of sorts — obsessed with transparency around ingredients and innovation — “and they’d probably be right,” she says. But the end result is clean spirits made from natural ingredients that are healthier for the consumer and the planet. “Incorporating sustainability into our brand ethos was a priority of ours — but more importantly, doing so in an authentic way,” Holmwood says. “We’ve partnered with ForestPlanet.org to plant a tree for every bottle sold and also partnered with SoWhatElse.org to work with local charities in areas where Origen and Harmony can be found.”
Holmwood says the company has also aligned with mission-driven distilleries. Maryland-based McClintock Distilling, which produces the Origen Specialty Vodka, runs on 100 percent renewable energy, avoids the use of pesticides, and utilizes non-GMO ingredients. California’s Griffo Distillery, which produces Harmony Gin, is a zero-waste facility, employs no water waste processes, and uses no plastic in its tasting room operations.
But none of that matters if the products aren’t delicious. The Holistic Spirits Company says it has that covered, too. Both spirits are made from organic alcohol — wheat for the vodka and corn in the gin. Origen Vodka includes artichoke leaves, elderberries, green tea leaves, and muscadine grapes. Harmony Gin features juniper berries, coriander seed, hyssop, lemon peel, lime peel, angelica root, and orris root. Holmwood says the botanicals are added to the spirits to make it easier on the body, but they also add depth of flavor and a colorful pink hue, which makes for a spirited spirit of sorts. “No alcohol is going to be healthy,” she says, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t be more conscious of what we’re putting in our bodies — in whatever setting that may be.”
Learn more about The Holistics Spirits Company here.
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