From local taverns in the Pacific Northwest to the Canadian government, enterprises across North America are dumping Russian vodka to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.
“SHOTS FIRED!! Starting Saturday Evel Pie Las Vegas is destroying All of its Russian Vodka bottles and replacing them with Ukrainian Vodka!,” Evel Pie, a punk-rock, Evil Knievel-inspired pizzeria near the Vegas Strip, posted to Facebook on Friday. The bar expanded their protest of the Russian invasion Saturday by adding that they are now selling off bottles of Russian Standard—for $300 each, with all proceeds going to the International Rescue Committee for Ukraine relief. The flyer added that the bottles were for “pouring out only.”
“When we opened our doors this morning, we had a line of people just there to support,” Branden Powers, Evel Pie’s managing partner, told The Daily Beast. “They were so eager at 11 a.m. to be doing shots and to do their part.”
For five dollars, customers can also purchase a shot of Ukrainian vodka that contributes to the growing fundraiser.
“We’re going to continue this promo as long as Putin illegally occupies Ukraine,” Powers said.
Far from the Vegas desert of Evel Pie, the Pine Tavern in Bend, Oregon, is likewise taking part in the creative resistance. Bill McCormick, the tavern’s owner, announced that his establishment would no longer sell Russian booze. He claimed he was willing to lose hundreds of dollars in vodka sales to stand against the invasion.
“Russia is acting as though it’s 1939 and going into Europe with a full force that they have in the Ukraine. I am so concerned about it metastasizing into other countries,” he told FOX 12 Oregon. In a dramatic gesture, McCormick double fisted two bottles of Stolichnaya that he then dumped on the snowy ground. As reported by FOX 12, the Pine Tavern is now only interested in selling vodkas distilled in Oregon.
In a press release Friday, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario announced that it too was removing all Russian-produced products from its stores and outlets immediately. LCBO, a Crown Corporation of the Canadian government, clarified that “wholesale customers, grocery stores and licensees make their own decisions about the availability of Russian products, however they will no longer be able to order these products until further notice.” The missive concluded: “The LCBO stands with Ukraine, its people, and the Ukrainian Canadian community here in Ontario.”
The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, which oversees liquor sales in the east coast province, likewise announced that all Russian Standard and Russian Standard Platinum Vodkas were to be pulled from the shelves of its stores.
“This is solely 100% directed at Putin. And I believe that a person like him doesn’t have a place in modern society,” Powers said of Evel Pie’s bar-backed protest, adding, “Our focus is the Ukrainian people.”
