Retailers in Wisconsin are dropping Russian vodka brands in support of Ukraine

Two major sellers of liquor, beer and wine in Wisconsin have dropped all Russian-made products in protest of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Sunday, Total Wine and More tweeted picture of an empty shelf with a sign reading, “We are no longer selling any Russian-made product.”

Craig Nilsen, a wine manager at Total Wine’s location in Brookfield, said the decision to remove the products caused some demand for them from customers.

“There were some customers that before that decision came down, which was on Sunday night, that were stocking up just in case something like that happened,” said Nilsen.

Nilsen said most people might not have heard of Russian-made vodkas like Russian Standard, Beluga, Hammer and Sickle or Zyr. He said brands like Stoichnaya and Smirnoff are made in Latvia and America, respectively.

“It probably comes down to, you know, maybe three major brands and say 26 to throw more obscure ones,” Nilsen said of actual Russian vodkas.

Woodmans Market, which owns stores in much of the southern half of Wisconsin, announced Tuesday it too would stop selling Russian vodka brands with the hashtag “We stand with Ukraine.”

President Clint Woodman said it was the right thing to do considering the Russian invasion of its neighboring country.

“It’s not like they were bestsellers to begin with,” said Woodman. “But after what’s happened, I don’t see us bringing any Russian products back in.”

NPR has reported that governors in Utah and New Hampshire ordered Russian-made and branded vodka to be pulled from government-run liquor stores.