MACON, Ga. — Central Georgia is a long way from Ukraine, but some folks in the Peach State are standing with the country. Some bars and liquor stores are taking Russian products off the shelves.
For some, it's personal conviction.
"I just can’t support the aggression of it and, obviously, economically supporting the country is support of some form," a Perry bar owner said.
For others, it’s personal connection.
"The grandmother who had a good part in raising me came here from the Ukraine back in the middle of the Russian Revolution back in the teens as a young girl," a Macon liquor store consultant said.
The one thing these Central Georgia businesses agree on is Russian-made vodka doesn't go down smooth as it once did.
"We have decided to not carry any Russian vodkas or liquor, period, or any Russian products at all, for that matter," Zachary Bibbins said.
As Ukraine and Russia's conflict rages on, Zachary Bibbins, the owner of Main Street Bar in Perry, has chosen to change around menu items and even his liquor stock.
“Yeah, a few asked me what I planned on doing and if I was dumping out the bottles or giving them away. I can’t give them away, so I had to dump them out," he said.
He's not the only one shutting Russia out.
Lee Alexander of Macon Beverage Outlet says he is also standing with Ukraine.
“What is more impactful, we felt, was trying to find a Ukrainian vodka," Alexander said.
In the United States, only about 1.2% of imported vodka in the comes from Russia, but for Alexander, it's long-term.
"The bigger impact is if we all kind of turn the faucet off and don’t buy any additional supplies of Russian vodka,” Alexander said.
As store shelves hold the outcast bottles, and bars display unused Moscow mule cups, standing for something has a silver lining.
"It kind of crosses the political lines and brought us together, and I think that is a great thing," Bibbins said.
Both men say their customers have been supportive of the change and as of now, they have no plans to restock Russian vodka.