BRUSSELS — Pernod Ricard has resumed exports of brands including Beefeater Gin and Jameson Irish Whiskey to Russia, a week after the French spirits giant was forced into U-turn on a decision to restart exports of Absolut Vodka following a backlash in Sweden.
Members of parliament in the U.K. are not happy that the iconic London gin, marketed under the slogan “The Spirit of London” is being sold in Russia, while the country continues to wage an all-out war in Ukraine.
“Pernod Ricard profiting from an aggressor state responsible for war crimes is shameful,” said Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP and chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, on Tuesday, according to the Daily Mail.
Pernod Ricard was among many firms to stop exports to Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last February.
“It is as disgusting as it is ironic to return to Russia while others are still getting out,” said Mark Dixon, founder of the Moral Rating Agency, in a statement. “It is the first large group we’ve tracked swimming against the moral tide.”
Two weeks ago, Swedish MPs slammed The Absolut Company, a Sweden-based subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, after news broke that it was resuming sales of Absolut Vodka to Russia. “Absolut Putin,” tweeted Social Democrat MP Anders Ygeman.
The backlash pushed Pernod Ricard to reverse the decision and re-suspend exports of Absolut Vodka — which makes the move to quietly restart sales of its other brands all the more surprising.
With the exception of Absolut, all Pernod Ricard brands, including Jameson and Redbreast Whiskey, both produced in Ireland, and Olmeca Tequila, are headed for Russian supermarket shelves, the French firm has confirmed, according to trade publication The Spirits Business.
“We immediately and continue to utterly condemn the unjustifiable war and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia,” Pernod Ricard said in a statement shared with the Daily Mail. “We have not changed our position, which has always been to protect our teams and avoid any accusation of fraudulent bankruptcy by maintaining a minimum level of activity.”
