Was NH distributing Russian Vodka in it’s Own State Liquor Campaign?

On February 26, 2022, New Hampshire Governor Sununu enacted an executive order to ‘kick Russian liquor off the shelf,’ in his Facebook post stating he was “instructing New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets outlets to begin removing Russian-made and Russian-branded spirits from our liquor and wine outlets until further notice.”

That executive order can be found here.

This is not the first time that Russian liquor has made political headlines.

*NH Governor Maggie Hassan promotes Old Man of the Mountain liquor through a NH State campaign.*

Back in 2014, while then NH Governor Maggie Hassan was parading around in her state liquor campaign, many New Hampshire residents were fuming over Hassan’s promotion. The ‘special edition Vodka’ was distributed in custom bottles featuring a large image of New Hampshire’s famous ‘Old Man Of The Mountain,’ which might be a gaping wound for many, as New Hampshire’s ‘Old Man of the Mountain’ icon collapsed in 2003.

This early commemorative version of the Old Man of the Mountain liquor only made 9,000 bottles, so it’s unlikely, it is being pulled off the shelves this week; however one legislator made a statement about the potential of Russian liquor being used in the Old Man of the Mountain bottles and what the implications of that would be.

Was NH Distributing Russian Vodka in it’s Own State Liquor Campaign?

This week, I came across a 2017 NHPR article that talked about how Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn suggested legislation that would suspend or ban the sale of Russia-made liquor at stores operated by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission.

It goes on to say that it would require that Old Man of the Mountain bottles contain American liquor, not Russian liquor.

“Jeff Woodburn (D-Whitefield) on Monday proposed a bill, LSR 932, that would establish a bipartisan commission to consider ways the state could respond to what he calls “Russian interference in our democracy.”
The Bill was rejected by the NH Senate

The Old Man on the Mountain is a granite symbol of independence and stubbornness and a natural rock formation that was created by a series of geologic events beginning an estimated 200 million years ago. Many locals were crushed over New Hampshire’s iconic ‘Old Man’ shocking destruction.

The icon depicting the ‘Old Man of the Mountain’ appears on the NH State quarter, State road signs and on countless souvenirs and tourist brochures.

Could it be that Old Man of the Mountain bottles were actually filled with Russian liquor?

That would be a kick in the seat, seeing as the bottle displays an iconic image of New Hampshire’s late Old Man of the Mountain symbol.

After all is said, you would think that the contents should also be made in New Hampshire- right?