Throwing out your Russian vodka in the wake of the country’s war on Ukraine? You better check a critical matter on the label.
The bars in Texas are pouring what they believe to be Russian vodka down the drain.
And Lamar Romero, chief executive of Dragon Spirits Marketing and Promotion, says people “have just kind of gone crazy” in his hometown of Austin.
“The local bars and across the state are throwing out vodka,” he says, “I’ve gone to my liquor store partners and I’m seeing shelves that literally say, ‘this spot is empty. This is a Russian product,” and then it’s pulled off their shelves.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some Americans, feeling a bit helpless but wanting to do something, have begun a hard backlash against Russian vodka.
Or at least, that is what a lot of people think they are doing.
“Seventy percent of the brands you see reported are actually made in America,” Romero says.
Most Russian-Sounding Vodka Isn’t From Russia
Some delicacies are so closely tied to the area that created them that it’s all but impossible to separate them. Even though barbeque is made all over the world, it still feels Southern every time you take a bite.
Distilled from grains and sometimes potatoes, vodka was born in Russia, Poland and Sweden. (Historians aren’t quite sure who came up with it first.) Traditionally, it is served cold and neat, often in shot form, though today it is popular with mixers and is known for being among the lowest-calorie alcohol options available.
Authenticity is always a strong marketing hook, and plenty of brands have Russian names, even when they are made elsewhere, such as Stoli (which is made in Riga, Latvia) and Smirnoff (DEO) – Get Diageo Plc Report, which is making very clear on its website that its product is distilled all over the place, including in the U S of A.
Reached for comment, a representative for Smirnoff told TheStreet that “Vladimir Smirnoff fled from Russia during the Revolution and reestablished the brand in Europe in the early 1920s.”
Smirnoff Vodka, he said, “is owned by Diageo, a British company, and is made in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Jamaica, Brazil, Argentina, India, South Korea, Indonesia and Kenya.”
Also a number of vodka brands that could be considered Russian-sounding are actually made in Poland, a country that is not currently invading anyone.
For example, Polugar Vodka is made near Warsaw, using a historical recipe from the Rodionov family, notes Cassandra Rosen, president and co-founder of FK Interactive.
“Originally from Russia, the Jewish family had to flee the country as refugees over a century ago, thanks to harsh regulations in 1895, when private distilleries were banned,” she explains.
“The boycott of Russian products, specifically in the vodka category, is more of a symbolic move than anything,” she says, “because Russian vodka only represented less than 2% of the category to date. Even Polish-made products may have Russian sounding names. Sobieski Vodka could be considered ‘Russian-sounding’, but it is also made in Poland.”
Rosen says she doubts that Stoli and Smirnoff had any “intent to mislead consumers,” but the use of Russian imagery in their marketing, and consumers not paying much attention to the finer points of Eastern European geography is causing confusion in the marketplace nonetheless.
“Stoli, has used the term ‘Russian vodka’ for marketing in more recent years and is listed on sites like Drizly as ‘Russian’ in origin,” she says. “There are other branding indicators that could prompt consumers to think of this as a Russian product, even though the brand repeatedly stated that this is not the case.
“The lesson we see here is that when things go sideways and tensions are high, sometimes the wrong brands will get caught up in the mix. It’s important for brands to be crystal clear in their brand messaging and communications strategies, so that sales aren’t lost because the message is muddied.”
Since the invasion only happened last week, Rosen says it’s too early to have any real data on how the boycott is impacting sales. “What’s on store shelves is the inventory that is technically already ‘sold’ from the brand to the distributor,” she says, “and then retailers, due to how the three-tier system works.”
Romero says that Dragon Spirits represents over 200 different clients from all over the globe and currently “we don’t have a Russian or product in our portfolio at this time,” he says.
Everyday consumers often don’t think very much about where their favorite products come from. They just like what they like, which is why, say, environmental and animal rights activists have to invest a lot of time in getting people to rethink their habits. That’s often a difficult task, as people can have knee-jerk adverse responses when they feel they are being lectured or corrected.
“I made the mistake of making a social media comment for which I got barraged,” Romero says. “It was just like, ‘ just because something sounds Russian, guys, doesn’t mean that we should just stop buying it. It’s not Russian. But people were having this knee-jerk reaction.”
Dmitry FeoktistovTASS via Getty Images
Is the Backlash Helping?
If consumers don’t want to support Russian vodka, Rosen says, they can always just do a spot of research before they take a sip. “Alcohol labeling requires disclosure of production location on the back label, so just pick up a bottle and look for the vodka’s origin, or ask your local retailer for a recommendation.”
But Romero points out that it’s certainly reasonable to ask what impact this boycott is having, or who it is helping. It’s a widely reported fact that this is Russian President Vladmir Putin’s war, not something the people of Russia really want, and social media is filled with accounts of young Russian soldiers who are horrified at what they are being forced to do.
“It’s a backlash against hardworking people in America and in Russia that are going to be hurt by this,” says Romero. But if you want to show your support with your alcohol purchasing dollars, there are options, he notes.
“Kruto Vodka is a Ukrainian-owned brand that is actually seeing a lot of rally. They’re organizing a thing next week to show their stance,” he says. “Nemiroff is another Ukrainian product. There seems to be a rally towards those brands right now, especially through our social media channels.”
While a lot of vodka is made in the U.S., it’s too early to say whether any American brands are broadly benefiting from the turn away from Russian vodka.
But Lakesha Foreman, owner of Black Storm Vodka in Atlanta, says the company has noticed a small bump in sales lately.
“Most American brands have expressed that it would be very poor form to try to promote their own brand as an alternative to Russian products, as the crisis is in Ukraine, not in the United States,” says Rosen.
“We have noticed an uptick in bars and restaurants that want to show their support for the Ukrainian people, either through swapping out their Moscow Mule cocktails for Kyiv Mules (using a Ukrainian vodka), or by donating a portion of proceeds from the sales of themed cocktails to charities and food banks helping refugees, like World Central Kitchen.”
Charity and food donations are likely to do more good than boycotting something that’s not even from Russia, and certainly a cause worthy of drinking to.
