Ian en Paul hebben een interview gehad met Forbes om hun Bourbonmerk ‘Brother’s Bond’ te promomten, deze verschint officieel op 1 mei.

According to Bacardi Limited’s annual trends report, 70 percent of North American consumers sought out sustainable or eco-friendly spirits brands at the end of 2020. While the upward trend of sustainable demand offers a positive shift in the market for now, all too often trends are just that—a fleeting moment. For Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, actors, directors, and activists, however, they intend to surpass sustainability with the debut of their bourbon, Brother’s Bond, by supporting regenerative agriculture.

“Building communities around farming and regenerative agriculture is the way to the future,” Somerhalder told Forbes. He explained that in the next decade there’s an opportunity for a great change in agricultural practices as the existing generation passes control to a younger (and by proxy, more progressive-thinking) generation. “We see that as a very powerful and positive thing,” he said. “The companies that are going to create the largest amount of stewardship are the companies with the triple bottom line: people, plant, profit.”

According to a 2020 journal published by MDPI, in comparison to the short-range concepts of sustainability, regenerative practices—including regenerative farming—reflect a holistic world view and aim for thriving living systems, where whole-system health and wellbeing increase continually. The journal furthers Somerhalder’s narrative and adds, “although the advancement of regenerative practices will require fundamental shifts supported by more awareness and education, theoretical and practical development, leadership, empowering communities, and integrating spirituality,” we should focus on regenerative sustainability because it addresses the “root causes of (un)sustainability.”

“Agriculture contributes more to climate change than all the cars on the road and all the planes in the sky, so that is where we make our stand,” Somerhalder emphasized.

The concept of Brother’s Bond originated during the early days of “The Vampire Diaries”—The CW hit series that aired from 2009 to 2017—where Wesley and Somerhalder first met and enacted the roles of the Salvatore brothers. Though Somerhalder (Damon Salvatore) and Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) shared many drams of bourbon on set, they revealed that the brown liquid consumed during the episodes was actually iced tea—so by the end of the day, they were ready for the real deal. Wesley shared, “Not to sound cheesy, but we would bond over bourbon after shooting.”

After 11 years, eight seasons and 171 episodes, Wesley and Somerhalder nurtured a brotherhood offset as conversations over their daily drink spanned from climate change and philanthropy to creating their own bourbon. They said that when filming ended, it was time to combine these recurring topics into a brand that extended beyond the show.

“We’re aware that although [“The Vampire Diaries”] was popular, it’s still finite,” said Wesley. “We want Brother’s Bond to transcend past TV and past our bond to create a community.”
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