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No more Russian vodka, try Ukraine's Kozak: US liquor stores trolled for booze boycott

The governors of Texas, Ohio, and New Hampshire personally ordered state retailers to remove Russian spirits from their shelves

While Pentagon is providing military assistance to Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia, the US and Canadian liquor stores found a unique way of standing in solidarity with the East European country. Hundreds of pubs and liquor shops across the two countries have imposed a ban on Russian vodka until further notice. Many even showed their support by publicly draining bottles of premium Russian vodka. Meanwhile, the store owners and vodka connoisseurs are urging people to try Ukrainian vodka brands like Kozak instead. 

However, US liquor stores were massively trolled on social media for the vodka boycott, as many opposed the wastage of high quality, premium alcohol. A few others also implied how banning Russian vodka won't be of much help as long as Chinese products are flooding the US market. The latest reports also show how the vodka boycott might be slightly misdirected, as many store owners are abandoning Russian-sounding Vodka brands which are manufactured in and out in the US.

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Vodka retailers in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New York, Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Ohio have participated in the Russian vodka draining ritual this week, reported USA Today. In fact, the governors of Texas, Ohio, and New Hampshire personally ordered state retailers on Saturday to remove Russian spirits from their shelves.

However, experts are estimating only a minor impact on US Vodka imports, since Russian vodka comprises just 1.2% of vodkas coming into USA. Though originally from Russia, the most popular vodka brands in US like Smirnoff, Ciroc, Tito's, Absolut, Svedka, Grey Goose and SKYY, are manufactured by Sweden, France, the UK, and in the US itself. 

Meanwhile, stores are promoting the sale of Ukrainian vodka brands like Kozak and Nemiroff. Evel Pie, a Las Vegas bar, was hailed from banning Russian vodka and selling Ukrainian spirits instead, with 100% of the sales proceeds being donated to Ukraine relief efforts. 

However, the boycott invited ample criticism from people in the US as well. "TO all Republican & Democrat elected officials… if your focusing in on RUSSIAN VODKA and not the other billions of imports from Russia plus 23% of all crude and petroleum products y’all need to resign immediately," a user pointed out. 

"To think placing sanctions on all Russian vodka will stop the #RussianArmy is crazy to me," another user tweeted, adding, "Cutting them off from SWIFT may help as long as Russian Central Bank can’t deploy international reserves. Perhaps the most effective deterrent to Russian soldiers’ morale is this right here."

A third user remarked, "Pulling Russian vodka from the shelves is stupid. You're not hurting the country you're hurting the merchants that sell it. Not to mention buying oil from the country at the same time. Vodka sales are like a drop in the bucket to oil."

Journalist Jordan Schachtel tweeted, "They pull Russian vodka off of the shelves, but everything else in our country is made in China, and that's fine!"