Shame on Wal-Mart’s Rue 33 Vodka
Wal-Mart's Rue 33 Vodka
Shame on you Wal-Mart! Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart are un-American in the liquor aisle. Wal-Mart decided to create and source a French vodka called Rue 33 rather than use the over 200 United States distilling companies. Wal-Mart missed a huge opportunity to create jobs inside the USA–the place that made them who they are today.
Why didn’t Wal-Mart choose one of the American micro distilleries to make its private label? It is because Wal-Mart will do anything to destroy good paying American jobs. Wal Mart destroyed Rubbermaid, just google it to find out how they did it.
Wal-Mart is sucking the blood out of America by sending all of its contracts/money outside North America for products.
Wal-Mart needs to be supportive of the American economy, the people who have made them successful. The Wal-Mart executives should choose distilleries in each state to produce its vodka? Or better yet, those money-hungry Wal-Mart executives in Little Rock should come out from under their lock rock and give the American micro-distiller brands some shelf space. Let the American vodka makers create a vodka for Wal-Mart. Why go to France? They only have good wine and brandy!
When you buy Rue 33 Vodka from Wal-Mart/Sam's Club then you are helping destroy the American economy!
Can you imagine the amount of jobs that Wal-Mart could create inside the USA by offering drink spirits from micro liquor entrepreneurs in all of its stores?
First, Rue 33 vodka is coming from an giant industrial plant. If they sourced the vodka from local distillers Wal Mart could create an enormous amount of jobs, save on shipping costs while being green.
Second, the bottle was designed by France-based, New York office of Dragon Rouge. Rue 33 bottle design looks cheaper than a bottle of Thai-whiskey.
Third, the vodka is coming from France. And if you are a connoisseur of vodka and you think good vodka comes from France, then please check the NASA website to find out when then next space shuttle leaves earth.
Fourth, Dragon Rouge is not a very good design firm, but Wal-Mart seems to be comfortable withCheap Incorporated. It is difficult to understand why WalMart could not find an American-based design firm to create the vodka. Shame on WalMart for outsourcing its graphic design, every graphic designer should feel insulted from Wal Mart’s decision.
Maurice Markey, VP of Wal-Mart
Maurice Markey, VP of Sam’s Club Private Brands, should be demoted for green-lighting this crappy designed Rue 33 bottle and sourcing the horrible tasting vodka from France. Rue 33 will be available in Sam’s Club. Shame on you Maurice Markey! Maurice Markey sure knows how to destroy American jobs! Maurice probably sold out the American people to get free trips to France. Maurice Markey is one of the most unethical executives we have come across.
Marcus Hewitt, Chief Creative Officer of Dragon Rogue, says:
“The Rue 33 signature identity was created to reflect authenticity, personal craftsmanship, and sophistication associated with vodka-making.”
Marcus definitely drank the kool-aid! There is no authenticity, personal craftsmanship, and sophistication when you deal with mass-produced vodka and Wal-Mart. Just look at the bottle. What Marcus meant to say is:
“The Rue 33 vodka’s average identity was created to reflect a knock-off looking, no craftsmanship, and simple cheapness that the American-hating Wal-Mart is associated with by its treatment of its suppliers.”
By the way, if you want a really good design firm, go to Michigan-based Flow Design. Its work is impressive. And they are not owned by a French company.
Wal-Mart, shame on you!
17 Comments
Bravo! Buy American, employ Americans! @sweepscat713
Bravo! I’m willing to bet Rue 33 is no better than their soccer team has been at the World Cup. Wal Mart, however, is far inferior to the US Soccer Team.
Just a thought, perhaps Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club looked to American micro-distillers for the distillation of a Sam’s Club brand, but was unable to come to a good arrangement. By the way, I’ve purchased this vodka to try it and it’s pretty good. Also, if you’re under the impression that Americans make the best vodka, you’re delusional. If they had truly wanted the best vodka, they would have outsourced to Russia.
Wal-Mart’s Rue 33 Vodka is one of the most anti-American vodkas on the market. The #1 USA retailer decided to abandon America to save a few pennies. Wal-Mart is one of the most unethical companies in the USA–and its liquor aisle is pure proof. Vodka from Russia differs widely from brand to brand–some of the worst quality vodka comes from Russia as well as some very high quality vodka such as the outstanding Beluga vodka.
First, This vodka is excellent compared to common vodkas like Absolut, and Skyy, and it’s far cheaper.
Second, There’s nothing “un-American” about importing liquor. We’re a Nation that interacts with other nations, deal with it.
We really need to curb our dependence on foreign oil, and Chinese and third world labor before I start to worry about Vodka from an allied first world nation.
HOWEVER,
I Prefer Tito’s. It’s an excellent micro from Austin, Texas with a very very clean and smooth flavor in the same price range. So, ask for it when you’re looking for a good vodka!
Wal-Mart is a business which sells goods. They have plenty of very good people with extensive marketing skills, knowledge, and experience. They are generally trying to compete against Grey Goose(among some other “top shelf” brands), and must have determined that this strategy for their top shelf vodka was going to give them the biggest advantage in the market. Grey Goose follows the same formula for the production of its product as well(including American designed and owned). Wal-Mart isn’t required to make it locally when it would have probably been more expensive and surely lured less consumers. Wal-Mart doing well with this product is far better for anybody than Wal-Mart selling less and probaly making less per bottle just to employ a half dozen people at a microdistillery.
An EXCELLENT vodka is True North by Grand Traverse Distillery. True North is a rye vodka with loads of flavor(for a vodka). They also make a flavored version that is infused with cherry and chocolate. The cherry version is neither medicinal nor overly sweet or bitter, and is also sippable. Both are 80 proof. Their wheat vodka is about $10 less, a move the owner, Kent Rabish, made to make the procuct more availablee to consumers during these harder economic times. (A less fancy bottle was used than True North, whose fancy bottle, complete with a corked cap, blows any other vodka bottle I’ve seen out of the water!) A potato vodka is in the works, an EXCELLENT chocolate infused vodka is available in-house, and don’t even get me started about their whiskies!!
It’s a great vodka at a great price, so I buy it.
I agree with D, we’re in international markets now, deal with it. Rue 33 compares very favorably to Grey Goose, although I do have an USA vodka, Glacier from Idaho, that I prefer. The problem is that the premium USA vodkas are impossible to find, especially if you live in a rural area. Sams are now all over, even easy access in our very rural locale and this is a very good product. Stoli is still my fav.
Hey Sandy, Where do you live? Do you have liquor stores in the rural areas besides Walmart?
WE FOUND THE RUE 33 AND WE LOVED IT WE PAIDED 23.00 AND THE BOTTLE WAS REALLY BIG AND WE PLAN ON GETTING MORE
WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING THE OTHER BRANDS REAL SOON
who cares? vodka is dead. once wal-mart has it’s own private label, that category is dead like schlitz or j&b.
Tequila, cachaça, mezcal… that’s entirely another story! Patron, Leblon, del Maguey? yum, yum, and yum again
“Wal-Mart, shame on you!”
LOL @ MicroLiquor
Sounds like somebody is drinking a lot of “Haterade” Rue 33 just came in #1 at a recent french vodka festival, Gray Goose was 2nd and Ciroc 3rd. Rue 33 is the only vodka that is distilled 6 times and at $28 I find this easy to purchase over the other more expensive brands I just mentioned, sorry Diddy but I’m rollin with da Rue.
WELL WELL WELL, @ all those who shout for shame, where are the heralds of free trade???
JUST IMAGINE HOW MANY THOUSANDS OF JOBS have been destroyed in France by the (us based) crisis and the US pension funds who close massively factories in France(and all over the world) to relocate in China or same (not in the US, eh, you, suckers!).
And, just between us, if french vodka seems odd, what about american made vodka, or californian “Champagne” (which is AOC, I mean the true one). Make no bone about it, “entrepreneur ” is a french word, sorry Mr Bush!
Keep on french bashing, they love it, the more you boycott the more they sell. And they have a lot of tasty things you’ll have to discover yet.
Wow..I really can’t believe some of the comments here. Absolutely right on with the facts in this article. If anyone truly believes that the best vodka is made overseas, then you are truly mistaken. Vodka is simply ethanol and water and then a filtration method, if any. Trust me, I make the stuff. Our vodka, along with several others made here, has been picked in blind taste tests over the most expensive European brands. Water is the key and if anyone thinks the best water comes from Europe and not the Rockies then we really haven’t been doing much research. American wheat and corn are some of the best in the world and when you combine that with amazing water, you get some pretty damn good vodka. The fact that an American icon would choose foreign over domestic even though the base of their success is off the money that hard working American’s spend in their store is sickening. Most of the big European brands do in fact come from monster ethanol plants and then private labeled. Unfortunately most of us drink what the distributors sell to the bar, the same distributors that make most of their money from large European brands.
@vodkamaker : how many percent of GMO “best of the world corn” are mixed to the “best in the world water”??? In Europe : o%… we just don’t need a third eye…or a second a…..e, you choose.
And again for one european brand who steals (relatively) the show in the US, what a chauvinistic reaction…Want to renew the Boston harbour tea parties?
Just cross the pond and you’ll appreciate how tolerant europeans are to the overwhelming US owned brands invasion.. and more than often def not “the best in the world”… but then you’ll say its just fair competition! LOL
“Most of the big European brands do in fact come from monster ethanol plants “; really? have you some facts about this? tss tss tss did’nt your Ma’ once tell you it’s very bad to lie?
ps you’re happy not to be a shirtmaker as probably those you wear come from China or Mexico, or a pants maker for the same reasons, or a car maker, then it would come from Japan or Germany or Sweden, wada,wada,wada.
One of the best Vodkas I have tried. Came to SAM’s club today, could not find my favorite Goose, and bought this one. And you know, I do not taste any diference between Grey Goose and Rue33. I do not realy care where it was made, as well as who will get more profit. I like good stuff. Of course, I respect our country and we have to think about our economy. But, sorry to say this, we cannot compete with othets who know this business better then we are. Everything I want to say, I am really satisfied with this vodka and recommended to all of you. Enjoy it. Cheers!!!