NYC bar owners dump vodka into streets, promote boycott to protest Russia’s anti-gay laws

[cali]

New York City bar owners poured bottles of Russian vodka into the streets of Manhattan on Monday in a protest against Russia’s crackdown on the gay community.

Holding up a bottle of the popular Russian brand Stolichnaya, the United Restaurant and Tavern Owners Association President Paul Hurley shook his head and called for a city-wide boycott of Russian spirits and liquor.

“All these vodkas here, we’re going to throw them out,” Hurley said. “We feel enough is enough.”

Hurley, who urged people to drink American-made alcohol instead, said the boycott was the first step toward pressuring Russia to change its policies toward gay people.

<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/nyc-bar-owners-dump-vodka-into-streets-promote-boycott-to-protest-russias-anti-gay-laws/2013/08/05/9de051b6-fe0a-11e2-8294-0ee5075b840d_story.html

[Agschmid]

1. Try Vodka from Vermont!

The award winning Green Mountain Organic “Sunshine” Vodka is made from 100% organic grains and Pure Vermont spring water. The made-by-hand process delivers the smoothest vodka available. This is the perfect representation of the distiller’s art. Whether straight or in a cocktail, one taste and you will know the difference organic makes.

“This vodka from the boutique Green Mountain Distillery is silky-smooth with a ghostly touch of sweetness on the finish.” ~Food & Wine Magazine

http://greendistillers.com/organic-vodkas/

ETA: VT loves the gays.

[cali]

3. yes indeed. some very fine vodka (and gin and rye) is being produced in Vermont

and there's a brand new producer

http://www.necn.com/08/05/13/Cows-are-customers-of-Vt-vodka-company/landing_business.html?blockID=848579&feedID=11126

There are 17 craft distillers in the state

There's even vodka mad from milk

http://www.spiritsreview.com/reviews-vodka-vermont-white.htm

Then there's Barr Hill Vodka and Gin (named after Barr Hill in Greensboro)

http://www.7dvt.com/2011vermont-spirits

We were driving through Quechee in early September when I turned to my husband. “Did I just see a sign advertising Vermont vodka?”

I’m familiar with Vermont craft beer and local wineries, but I’d never heard of vodka or any other type of distilled spirits produced in Vermont. It turns out that the artisan distilled spirits industry is alive, well and growing both nationwide and in Vermont.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), the national trade association representing America’s leading distillers, describes distilled spirits as beverage alcohol products which are first fermented and then distilled to a higher alcohol content than beer or wine. Vodka, whiskey, gin, brandy and liqueur flavored with local ingredients such as honey and maple syrup are currently produced in Vermont. Bill Goggins, director of education, licensing and enforcement at the Vermont Department of Liquor Control (DLC), says that craft distilleries are “growing by leaps and bounds in Vermont, with 15 registered distillers and two more pending.”

What differentiates Vermont’s artisan distillers from giants like Smirnoff or Absolut? Pennfield Jensen, vice president of operations for the American Distilling Institute, a group that represents artisan distillers, is enthusiastic about the farm-to-table aspect of craft spirits. He notes that artisan spirits are dependent on the region where they’re distilled because they use local products to make small batches of distilled spirits that reflect the agriculture of the area. According to Jensen, the first artisan distillery started in 1982 in Alameda, California, and the American Distilling Institute was formed in 2003 with 69 members. Today it has 420 members nationwide and expects to grow to nearly 1,000 by 2015.

<snip>

http://ediblegreenmountains.com/editorial/winter-2013/liquid-assets-vermont-in-a-bottle/

And the much sought after Whistle Pig 100% rye whiskey.

and lots more, not to mention Vermont's world class craft brewers- Hill Farmstead was rated best brewery in the world this year by ratebeer.com. and the hard cider producers, the ice wine producers and herbal organic bitters and mixers.

We're a boozy little state

[KansDem]

4. Try vodka from Kansas and Missouri!

Weston, Missouri--



Atchison, Kansas--



Mighty tasty!

[frazzled]

5. Try (organic) vodka from Wisconsin!

Honestly, I love this stuff (even though I drink on rare occasion; but I do like the occasional vodka martini or vodka tonic):

Death’s Door Vodka employs a base of organic Washington Island wheat and organic malted barley from Chilton, Wisconsin. Death’s Door Vodka is double-distilled and hand cut resulting in a spirit that’s smooth and rich with subtle notes of vanilla. We feel it’s the best in taste, flavor and mouth-feel for a domestic vodka.
http://deathsdoorspirits.com/pages/spirits/spirits.php

[OneGrassRoot]

7. Excellent! Thank you and Cali both for this. :) n/t

[MNBrewer]

9. Minnesota vodka

including organic.

[snooper2]

10. Everything is better from Texas

Tito’s Handmade Vodka is produced in Austin at Texas’ first and oldest legal distillery. It’s made in small batches in an old fashioned pot still by Tito Beveridge (actual name), a 40-something Geologist, and distilled six times.

Tito’s Handmade Vodka is designed to be savored by spirit connoisseurs and everyday drinkers alike. It is microdistilled in an old-fashioned pot still, just like fine single malt scotches and high-end French cognacs. This time-honored method of distillation requires more skill and effort than modern column stills, but it’s well worth it.

Meet Tito Beveridge, founder and master distiller of Tito's Handmade Vodka. This award winning vodka beats every vodka you're thinking of!



THE STORY

Hi. I’m Tito Beveridge and I’m the founder and owner of Titos Handmade Vodka. I’m from San Antonio, Texas. I went to Vanderbilt for a year then to UT, University of Texas at Austin. I graduated with degrees in geology and geophysics. I got into the oil and gas business and did that in Texas and then down in Venezuela and Colombia and ran heli-portable dynamite seismic crews down there and came back and started a drilling company in Houston, got tired of chasing the buck and decided to move back to Austin, Tx.

I did ground water geology here and got in the mortgage business and it was when I was in the mortgage business that I started making flavored vodka for my friends for Christmas presents. That was in about i guess ’92, ’93. I was at a party one time and a stranger came up to me and said ‘Hey you’re the vodka guy’ and I was like no, contraire, I am the mortgage guy. And that’s when I kinda started thinking that this guy’s telling me i need to go sell my flavored vodkas and this was the first time I really started thinking seriously about it.

So when rates went up a couple points in the mortgage business I started going to liquor stores and ask guys if they’d buy my flavored vodkas, they said “no, go look at all the dust on the shoulders of those bottles there”. Then they said but if I could make it where it was smooth where you could drink straight then I might have something. So I asked them how you do that and they said “Well I don’t know, you’re the guy who wants to get in the vodka business.”

[cali]

11. ha! I contest that!

Vermont has more award winning food and beer/booze products than TX- and we're tiny.

Best cheese in the country? Winnemere from the Cellars At Jasper Farms

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sharon-kitchens/cellars-at-jasper-hill_b_3704896.html

Best brewery in the world? Hill Farmstead
http://www.craftbeer.com/news/brewery-news/hill-farmstead-brewery-named-best-brewery-in-the-world-2013

Both are just down the road from me.

Many consider Whistle Pig to be the best Rye Whiskey made.

Also:

http://goodspiritsnews.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/gsn-review-caledonia-spirits/

[snooper2]

12. We have the best cows

Texas Real Milk Farmstead Cheese & Dairy Products
Here at Veldhuizen Family Farm you will find contented dairy cows grazing the beautiful green pastures just outside Dublin, Texas. These cows give rich, golden milk which is made into our artisan cheese.

We are a small family farm that believes in careful care of the natural resources, commitment to quality in caring for our animals, and making the finest quality cheese. Three generations of our family work together to produce quality, real food for you. We invite you to come in for a visit and discover the extraordinary pleasure of our delicious farmstead raw milk cheese.

http://www.veldhuizencheese.com/

[cali]

16. not even close!

terroir, terroir, terroir, climate, climate, climate and water, water, water- not to mention ag and environmental regs. Terroir is why Vermont produces the best artisan cheeses in the country and the best beer in the world.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Jasper+Hill+cows&authuser=0&gl=us&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=zB0BUrzcAZKc8wSkgoGwDQ&ved=0CGUQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=519#authuser=0&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=668f41cd72e9d6f0&gl=us&hl=en&q=Jasper+Hill++Farm+cows&sa=1&tbm=isch

[Bunnahabhain]

15. Whistle Pig

is made in Canada.

[SunSeeker]

2. Stoli is made in Latvia.

But people should drink American vodka anyway...if they are going to drink vodka.

[AppleBottom]

6. Freedom fries!

Much tastier than French fries...

[OneGrassRoot]

8. ^^ Thanks for all the above links ^^ I had no idea...

vodka was produced here in the States. Then again, I'm not a vodka connoisseur but I love that organic vodka is produced in various states.

Thanks.

[Bunnahabhain]

13. I cannot endorse

the wasting of good vodka when people in this world are dying of thirst.

[geek tragedy]

14. I wonder what the reaction in Brighton Beach is nt