Why New York Liquor Stores Pulling Russian Vodka Doesn’t Make Much Sense

It doesn't matter what side of the political fence you stand on - one thing we can all agree on is that what's happening in Ukraine is awful and we can't just sit back and watch, we have to do something.

Get our free mobile app

However, pulling Russian vodka from liquor store shelves and dumping it might not be the answer New Yorkers believe it to be.

Liquor stores all across the state of New York have been pouring out bottles of Russian vodka in protest to what Russia has done to Ukraine. It sounds like a great idea. We're mad at the actions of Russia and we want to show the people of Ukraine that we stand behind them but consider this - Russia has already been paid for the vodka that we're throwing out.

Can you just imagine a bunch of people in Russia reading the news that New York liquor stores are dumping out their supply of Russian vodka and doubling over in laughter?

The product has already been paid for and Russians already have their money. This act of boycotting on our part isn't hurting them. Yes, it might hurt them down the road if we don't replenish our supply but at this very second, New York liquor stores dumping their vodka means nothing to Russia and is doing absolutely nothing to support Ukraine.

Additionally, there has been talk on social media of boycotting Stoli Vodka however, many don't realize that Stoli isn't even made in Russia. It's not even owned by a Russian company, so dumping Stoli also means nothing.

While the vodka got its start in Russia, Stoli is manufactured and bottled in Latvia which is a NATO country and the brand is owned by a company in Luxembourg. Stoli Group is agast by the actions of Russia and issued a statement which said the company, "unequivocally condemns the military action in Ukraine."

Another brand being confused as being Russian is Smirnoff. Yes, Smirnoff got its start in Russia but the company has been owned by Diageo, a British company for years, and get this - it's manufactured in Illinois.

If you really want to make a difference, if you want to do more than show anger toward Russia and you want to help the people of Ukraine, there are much better ways you can help than by dumping vodka.