'Not all Vodka is Russian': Distillers ask consumers to focus boycotts on Russian-made spirits

Liquor connoisseurs the world over are pouring out Russia-made vodka in a show of support for Ukraine, but the boycott is impacting distillers from other regions, some of which are trying to give aid to Ukrainian refugees.

“Generally, the world is taking anything off the shelves that looks like Russia,” Intars Geidans, chairman of the board at Latvijas Balzams, the largest alcoholic beverage producer in the Baltic states, told CTV National News.

No brand knows this better than the maker of Stolichnaya vodka, which announced a major rebrand last week in direct response to its founder's "vehement position" against the Putin regime and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Stolichnaya, which will now be sold and marketed under its nickname “Stoli,” has long been marketed as Russian vodka, despite its production facilities being located in Latvia.

In an effort to further distance the brand’s Russian ties, Stoli Group says it will only use Slovakian sources to make sure that none of its ingredients are sourced from Russia. The company is also offering jobs to Ukrainian refugees in Latvia.

“More than anything, I wish for 'Stoli' to represent peace in Europe and solidarity with Ukraine,” Stoli Group founder and Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler said in a statement last week.

Shefler, a fierce critic of Putin, is asking consumers to focus their boycotts carefully on Russian brands, reminding spirit enthusiasts that not all vodka is Russian.

Smirnoff, which brands itself as the world’s number one vodka, has also made an effort to distance itself from its Russian roots, updating its website with a banner that reads “proudly made in America.”

"While Smirnoff had its beginnings in Russia, Vladimir Smirnoff fled the country during the Revolution and re-established the brand in Europe more than a century ago," the homepage reads.

Originally founded in Moscow in 1864, Smirnoff has been operating in America since 1934 and is owned and operated by British company Diageo. The product is distilled in Illinois.

Russian-made vodka accounts for a very small percentage of the roughly US$7 billion in annual vodka sales, according to the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS), a national trade organization that represents spirits makers.

In the United States, less than one per cent of vodka consumed is produced in Russia and more than half of all vodka consumed domestically is actually made in the U.S., according to data from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, a global firm that tracks alcohol sales.

- With files from the Associated Press