Virginia ABC stores pulling Russian vodka from shelves

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, elleng, for her thread reporting, via WUSA, that the liquor stores in Montgomery County, Maryland, have removed Russian-made Vodka from the shelves.

Montgomery County suspends sale of all Russian-made alcohol from ABS stores.

Virginia ABC stores pulling Russian vodka from shelves

Feb 27, 2022 Updated 5 hrs ago

Virginia ABC stores are removing Russian-sourced vodka from their shelves in support of Ukraine, the agency announced Sunday.

The move follows a call by Gov. Glenn Youngkin this weekend for state agencies to review "procurement of any and all goods and services involving Russian companies."

In a Facebook post, the ABC said the following vodka brands will be removed immediately:

• Beluga
• Hammer & Sickle
• Imperia
• Mamont
• Organika
• Russian Standard
• ZYR

"We carry other spirits that have Russian-themed monikers and marketing such as Stolichnaya and Smirnoff, but these products are not produced in Russia and will not be removed from our shelves," the post said.

{snip}

[Tadpole Raisin]

1. Companies and our political representatives should be careful how they implement this

First they already paid for it (ok there’s the symbolism) but more than that it may not be made in Russia.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/27/business/russian-vodka-boycotts/index.html

Snip-

These moves are largely symbolic — and may even miss their intended target — as very few brands imported to the United States still produce the liquor in Russia.

Many of the top-selling vodka brands that trace their origins to Russia are now distilled in multiple countries — including the United States.

For example, some bar owners are protesting the invasion by dumping out Stoli Vodka. Problem is, it’s only Russian by name, which is loosely translated as “capital city” due to its origins in Moscow. The vodka is actually made in Latvia, and the company’s headquarters is in Luxembourg — a member of NATO which has spoken against the Russian invasion.