Most of us have our stress-relievers and/or poisons, and one of the most frequently used is alcohol. My wife and stepdaughter have a taste for vodka(I prefer gin when it comes to clear liquors) and acquired a taste for Russian Standard.
Yesterday was Saturday. My wife wanted her vodka, and I was in the mood for some Pusser’s Admiralty Rum(the one the Royal Navy uses—there’s even a white ensign on the bottle), and off to the State Liquor Agency we went.
The Pusser’s was right there, on the bottom shelf with the other cheap stuff(less than $20 for 750ml), but the Russian Standard was gone. Stolichnaya, which I always thought was Russian, was there, but had a disclaimer:
I’m not a vodka connoisseur. I just knew the brand used to say “Imported from the USSR” on the bottles, so I learned something. I guess they had to put that sign out so people wouldn’t complain they were selling Russian vodka. Anyway, my wife ended up buying some Swedish vodka and politely complained to the store manager about the absence of her Russian Standard.
She informed him that she has Russian ancestry and was offended. He didn’t know what to say. I doubt it was the first time he’d heard that as there are quite a few Russian immigrants living in this part of Ohio.
Yeah, like not selling Russian vodka in American liquor stores is going to bring down Vladimir Putin’s government or crush their economy. This is as silly and ridiculous as Bush’s Freedom Fries or Wilson’s Liberty Cabbage. It is also one more example of just how authoritarian America has become.
I just hope we don’t have a falling out with the UK. No more Bombay or Tanqueray gin. Or with Ireland. No more Jameson’s or Bushmill’s, or (gasp!) Guinness! Or with Mexico. Cut off my tequila you’re gonna have a problem. It’s bad enough we can’t buy Cuban cigars but Canadians can.
Declining empires do the stupidest things.
McCarthyism Infects the Ohio State Liquor Agency as Russian Vodka is Pulled from Shelves
Hey OB, this country so easily manipulated. We had a trip to Europe planned for this summer and cancelled as one of our traveling companions is a Russian. Didn't want to subject her to all the anti-Russian hysteria which I hear is much worse in Europe. Rarely drink hard liquor but if I do it'll be a gin martini with Bombay Sapphire.