More bars and restaurants joining #DumpRussianVodka campaign

A 200-member coalition of NYC restaurant and nightclubs has joined the boycott of Russian vodka.

Here’s more on their protest in Manhattan.

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.

Paddy MacCarty, who owns a Manhattan bar called Nevada Smiths, said he’s planning to toss out every bottle of Russian vodka behind the bar.

At least 200 New York bars and restaurants are participating in the boycott, which has spread to many gay bars across North America in the wake of a newly passed Russian law that bans the so-called “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations.”

(via JMG)

More NYC bars joing the #DumpRussianVodka campaign

From the Facebook page of The Eagle NYC:

“Beginning immediately, the Eagle NYC will discontinue the sale of STOLI and any alcoholic product produced in Russia in protest of Russia’s anti-gay bill banning the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations”. This archaic bill effectively strips every LGBTQ member in Russia of basic human rights and puts gays in danger of being harmed or even killed because of the anti-gay fervor created by the bill. The bill even applies to tourists. The Russian government is pandering to its constituents basest characteristics in an attempt to elevate it’s own image.

“The Eagle NYC denounces the bill and will continue to support gay rights at home and abroad.”

Three other NYC venues with the same owner will reportedly join the boycott: Industry, Elmo, Barracuda.