GARNER, N.C. — North Carolina and several other states have moved to ban sales of Russian-made vodka in state liquor stores after Russia invaded Ukraine.

This move is largely seen as a symbolic, but it is a chance to pay more attention to where our products come from.

What You Need To Know

  • Many local distilleries offer high-quality liquor made in the state using grains from North Carolina farmers

  • Jake Howland, who used be a chemist, started his distillery Aristotle Spirits last year

  • His business is a sustainable option because his raw materials come from within a 500-mile radius

Jake Howland, owner of Aristotle Spirits, hopes the state ban on Russian-made vodka inspires people to buy local.

“It can really help out a lot of local businesses,” Howland said.“It can really help out a lot of local businesses,” Howland said. “Possibly get people thinking a little bit more about what sort of products they’re buying, where it’s coming from, and might open their eyes to the fact that there’s a lot of really good, high-quality, premium products being made right here in North Carolina.”

Buying local doesn’t just help his small business, but it helps farmers in North Carolina and beyond.

“We do deal a lot with local goods,” Howland said. “Most of our raw materials will come from local areas. The grain that we use in our vodka, and the grain that we are planning to use for our whiskeys, they’re coming from North Carolina malt houses, who are getting their grains from North Carolina farmers in a lot of cases, possibly from like southern Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina.”

Related: N.C. ABC stores and bars pull Russian products from shelves

His business is a sustainable option for someone looking to lower their carbon footprint.

“Our goal is to pull in as much as we can from raw materials from within a 500-mile radius,” Howland said. “Just that alone cuts down significantly on a lot of these impacts. It’s just the same as eating your local fruits and vegetables. We’re not pulling ingredients from South America, California, nearly as much as probably a lot of others. The fact that the total travel time of this product is from grain in the grounds to the store here in Wake County is very minimal.”

Howland worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a chemist before starting his own business last year. He had been brewing beer and distilling at home so he decided to follow his passion.