Brown-Forman Vows To Strike Back At Russian Ruling

By Richard Thomas

Brown-Forman is not taking Russian claims that Jack Daniel’s whisky is tainted with insecticide lying down. Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that Brown-Forman will fight the allegations, and that they do not expect the confiscation of Jack Daniel’s products in Russia to be nationwide. Instead, the company believes it will be confined to the Ural region where the charges originated.

The Russian move against Jack Daniel’s, based on a finding that Jack Daniel’s Honey had content “not consistent with whisky” and rumored to be insecticide, is widely perceived as just another part of the general campaign against food products imported from western countries in retaliation for sanctions placed on Russia for the country’s support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. In addition to barring the import of Kentucky Gentleman bourbon, Russia has also made a high profile move against McDonald’s.

The Sverdlovsk branch of Russia’s food safety agency, which made the allegations against Jack Daniel’s, has become notorious for issuing rulings against imports from countries that have fallen out of favor with the Kremlin.

Although Brown-Forman has sworn to fight the insult to its brand name, how much the company can actually accomplish inside Russia is limited. Russia is notorious for its weak rule of law, and is ranked 127th out of 177 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, tied with Pakistan. Even though Jack Daniel’s is the world’s second-best selling whiskey, Brown-Forman may find they have little or no recourse in the face of the Kremlin’s economic reprisals against the United States and Western Europe.