As our tastes mature and evolve, so should our cocktails too – and there is truly forward-thinking artistry in every bottle of both Harmony Gin and Origen Vodka. They’re the two groundbreaking flagship pours from Holistic Spirits Co., the passion project of two environmentally conscious groundbreakers in their own right: Amy Holmwood and Woody Harrelson.
Monarch raised a glass with them both at their launch event full of both aficionados and friends – all eager to savor cocktails hand-crafted with a mindfulness that is straight from the garden to the glass. The innovative mission of Holistic Spirits Co. is to create an artisanal collection of plant-based alcohols that embody what Amy calls “a new kind of spirit for the next generation of drinkers.”
Infused With Passion
Even now, as Origen and Harmony stake their claim in the marketplace, Holmwood is charmed to recall that the entire endeavor “started as a bit of a curiosity project.” Amy’s mother, a chef, made sure she grew up surrounded by fresh produce and a spirit of growing one’s own food. That was just one of the factors that sparked Amy’s curiosity, “I was fascinated with the wellness movement and natural health. I saw ingredients that were ‘better for you’ in the non-alcoholic space and I thought ‘When is someone going to use plants in a positive way to innovate alcohol?’ “
The question catapulted her entrepreneurial journey, but it was an idea that would take ingenuity – and a healthy dose of science. Would the ingredients she had in mind even keep stable in alcohol? Holmwood hired a chemist and dove into the world of biohacking, creating a proprietary mix of botanicals paired with nutrigenomics…
… and the results turned out delicious. Origen Vodka is an infused alcohol that enchants with subtle hints of the muscadine grapes, green tea, French artichoke leaves and European elderberries that are expertly blended inside its rosy hue. Harmony Gin’s smooth flavor is just as eclectic, featuring lilts of everything from angelica and orris root to aromatic hyssop and artichoke leaves sustainably harvested in the Loire Valley. It’s the combined flavor and philosophy that made Woody dive in too.
Natural Born Distiller
Many first met Woody Harrelson slinging Bostonian beers behind the bar of Cheers… so it’s a surreal and very modern evolution to join him in a toast for his thoroughly 2025 commitment to sustainability and “Cocktails with Conscience.”
Remembering his first sip of a Holistic Spirit brings a warm smile to Woody’s face. He can’t help but heap praise on those around him, “I’m so happy to be here with a crew that’s the best of the best. Amy is a true visionary with determination and caring. From my first night with one of these bottles, my interest was tré piqued. I fell in love.”
Thrilling and delighting audiences has always been what drives Harrelson. From True Detective to The Hunger Games, that has usually meant on screen… now he’s doing so in his bottles as well, “I don’t know why no one has ever put superfoods or these botanicals into spirits before. Not to mention there’s no GMOS. No sugar. Certified organic base spirits. To me, this is the highest level of what you can hope to provide people to drink.”
Next-Gen Thinking. Enlightened Drinking.
At the launch event, Monarch savored delicious signature drinks featuring both Harmony Gin and Origen Vodka, expertly crafted by acclaimed mixologists Cameron Dodge-White and Yael Stormborn – a Tales of the Cocktail winner. Each used only hand-made syrups that Amy found ideal, “Everything going into that glass is holistic.”
The crowd was dazzled as Dodge-White lit fire to a mix of Harmony, Cocchi Americano, and Optimist Bright as it seeped through flaming grapefruit and orange to make a pour over cocktail. Stormborn’s “Namedropper” proved to be a mic dropper of a drink as well, pairing Origen Vodka with lychee, green chile, Fino Sherry, and organic mezcal.
From Origen… to the Future
Now that her bottles are a reality – lining the shelves of Total Wine and other fine retailers and spreading its influence even further than she dreamed – it’s fascinating to hear Holmwood recall some of the naysayers that she’s met along the way, “So many don’t believe you can make something… better.” It took perseverance to win the partnership of the two distilleries that produce Harmony and Origen, handpicked by Amy for their USDA green-certified, zero-waste policies that use less water and recycle their by-products right back into farming, “When I first went to them, they said ‘we only do our own stuff.’ Once they tasted our test batches? It was suddenly, ‘okay, we’re in.’ ” It was yet another perfect partnership that now sees Holistic Spirits bottled at McClintock Distillery in Frederick, Maryland and California’s own Griffo Distillery. Evolved drinking on the way to going nationwide.
In his launch event speech, Harrelson cocked a mischievous and wry grin as he toasted with Holmwood about their plant-based, vegan, enlightened spirits and admitted, “I mean, is it healthy? … it’s maybe a little less unhealthy.” The laugh it brought to the room was worthy of his classic sitcom – as he and Amy help usher our taste buds and cocktail culture into the next generation.
For Kevin, being a writer has always required a great deal of wine. He never dreamed he’d be able to combine his love for the two. His screenwriting includes works for Paramount, MTV, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Bad Robot, and his role as Executive Story Editor on “Blood & Treasure,” an action adventure show on CBS and Amazon. Before that, his thirst for sketch comedy led to pieces for The Onion and National Lampoon – as well as the stages of UCB, HBO Workspace, Comedy Central Stage and festivals in San Francisco, NYC, Vancouver and beyond. He’s a write-at-home dad always ready for a winery road trip… especially a dog-friendly one.
