PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Although Oregon’s liquor authority directed liquor stores to pull Russian-made vodka due to the Russian-Ukraine war, the independently owned stores are suffering no loss.
According to the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission, the OLCC contracts with liquor store owners to sell distilled spirits statewide. Liquor store operators then receive a percentage of each sale and any revenue from those sales goes directly back to fund municipal programs statewide.
Bryant Haley, a spokesperson for the commission, said any Russian vodka in Oregon liquor stores is owned by the state, which is about approximately 60K worth of product.
“Any product in the OLCC warehouse is still owned by the supplier (distiller or distributor) and can be returned,” Haley said.
This means that the OLCC owns all of the liquor in Oregon liquor stores and the stores receive it on consignment and make a commission when they sell it.
Jeff Robertson with Rose City Liquor on Northeast Sandy in Portland said the store suffers no loss when they have to pull an item that is not theirs.
“The Russian vodka market is small,” Robertson said in an email to KOIN 6 News. “There are two brands that we had in stock, Russian Standard and White Tiger for a total of about 20 bottles. The biggest misconception people have is that Stoli Vodka is from Russia, it is in fact from Latvia.”
OLCC says it will continue to evaluate the issues and how the state will move forward.
“Liquor store owners will fill their shelves with other products and a decision will be made about the Russian products that are in stores in the near future. This whole situation reminds me of the adage of ‘Think globally but act locally,’” Haley said. “The OLCC has done what it can joining with other states that have taken the same action.”
The OLCC ordered the state’s liquor stores to pull the Russian-made vodka last Monday.
By pulling 5,000 bottles of Russia-made liquor from more than 280, the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission said it would sequester the remaining supply — more than 6,200 bottles — in its Portland warehouse.