OLCC stops sale of Russian spirits
By Terry Murry on Monday, February 28th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
The following news release was issued by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission Monday:
Today the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission (OLCC) directed the operators of Oregon’s independently owned liquor stores to stop selling all Russian manufactured distilled spirits. The OLCC has sequestered the remaining supply of Russian spirits in its Portland warehouse.
The following Russian manufactured liquor products below are no longer available for purchase:
Across the state, about 5,000 bottles of Russian-made liquor are currently for sale in 281 liquor stores. More than 6,200 bottles remain in the OLCC warehouse distribution center. Effective immediately, liquor stores have started removing all bottles of Russian-made liquor from their store shelves, and the OLCC has stopped fulfilling orders for those products from its warehouse.
The OLCC is taking this action as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Removing these products aligns with other states that have acted to ban the sale of Russian made products as a part of economic sanctions against Russian operated businesses. Economic sanctions against the Russian government are designed to bring this conflict to an end.
As Oregon Governor Kate Brown has said “The actions of the Russian Government are not the actions of the Russian people. We value our Russian community here in Oregon, and many Russian families are being impacted by this conflict.”
Oregon Liquor stores are also prohibited from fulfilling any customer “special order” requests for Russian manufactured liquor.
Consumers can still find all other brands of vodka including those branded with Russian names, but not purchased from distilleries located in Russia, for sale in Oregon liquor stores.
“The OLCC understands that there are times when we must respond to a higher calling in the interest of humanity, and this is a but a small step the OLCC and the State of Oregon can take,” said Paul Rosenbaum, Chair of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission
