Standard-Examiner: Idaho Lifts 'Ban' on Five Wives Vodka - Updated

Idaho State Liquor Division "folds" like a cheap lawn chair

Here's the latest in the "Five Wives Vodka" guerrilla marketing story, folks, which has been simmering on the WCF front-burner for the past week or so:

Too funny.  The Idaho State Liquor Division "folds" like a cheap lawn chair:

• Idaho lifts 'ban' on Five Wives Vodka

All's well that ends well, we guess.

Update 6/7/12 7:00 a.m.:  The Idaho Statesman is on on the story too, confirming that indeed it was Jonathan Turley's strong attorney letter which tipped the scales, and also reporting that the Idaho State Liquor Division's policy flip-flop included a nice apology from the Idaho Likker Division for disparaging Ogden's Own Distillery's (OOD) fine "Five Wives" vodka product:

• Idaho throws out Five Wives Vodka ban

The Statesman story also hints that the controversy actually may not be resolved to the point where OOD might be willing to call off its legal dogs, as the Idaho ban isn't actually 100% overturned, but the new policy will merely permit Idaho on-premise licensees and retail consumers to purchase the "Five Wives" product by "special order," which is still a bit of a hassle, according to OOD spokesman Steve Conlin.

We'll continue to follow developments in this fascinating local story, Of course.

What about it Gentle Readers? Who among us doesn't believe that the Ogden's Own Distillers will do everything possible to continue to play this controversy to the hilt?

Fox 13 News: Five Wives Vodka Sees Boost in Sales After Idaho Ban

Ogden's Own Distillery rakes in the bucks on the heels of the kind of publicity that money can't buy

As a followup to our earlier writeups on the subject, and amidst the doldrums of another s-l-o-o-w news day, one WCF-topical story rises to the surface this morning. Fox 13 News reported yesterday afternoon that as a result of the national furor over the Idaho banning of "Five Wives Vodka," sales of the Ogden City produced  liquor product with the funny label are flat-out booming:

• Five Wives Vodka sees boost in sales after Idaho ban

Incidentally, we checked with our local favorite Utah DABC package store yesterday afternoon, and were told that they're all sold out.

On the heels of the kind of publicity that money couldn't buy,  Ogden's Own Distillery is predictably raking in the bucks.

OWD proprietors are "makin' hay while the sun shines," alright; and as an added bonus... they're putting Ogden City "on the map," wethinks.  That's what our WCF readers like, right?

So who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

It's been a mite quiet around here of late.

Standard-Examiner: Idaho Liquor Division Willing to Work with Five Wives Vodka Producers

Whaddaya know?  A near complete 180 degree turnabout within the span of one single day

More breaking news in the "Five Wives Vodka" guerrilla marketing story.  The Standard Examiner reports this morning that the Idaho Liquor Division, duly embarrassed by the tidal wave of bad publicity, and under threat of percipient legal action, is now suddenly "willing to work with a broker to explore solutions that enable Five Wives Vodka, produced by Ogden's Own Distillery, to be sold in that state"  "The use of viral marketing to get publicity has been brilliant," the the formerly intransigent director of the Idaho State Liquor Division,  Jeff Anderson, admits:

• Idaho liquor division willing to work with Five Wives Vodka producers

 Whaddaya know?  A near complete 180 degree turnabout within the span of one single day.

As an added bonus, here's an interesting background story from the Idaho Statesman:

• Five Wives Vodka will sponsor Boise Music Festival

Be sure to check out the savvy reader comments beneath this latter story, which reveal that Idaho residents seem to have no higher regard for their own bumbling home state liquor regulation agency than do the thirsty lumpenciticens of our Beehive State for our correspondingly inept Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Seems like every time Big Gummint meddles in what should be the free private market, we always see the same ham-handed results, dunnit?

Standard-Examiner: OUR VIEW: The Vodka War

Keep your heads down, folks...  The Standard predicts there's an upcoming Utah-Idaho trade war

In the wake of Wednesday's Standard Examiner story, (which reported that local Ogden hootchmaker, Ogden’s Own Distillery, has had its vodka product rejected for sale in the state of Idaho because the "label on the vodka offends women and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"), the OAD vodka brand is definitely relishing its fifteen minutes.  This morning's Standard follows up Wednesday's story with this strong editorial, which keeps "Five Wives Vodka" right up front in the local limelight:

• OUR VIEW: The vodka war

Smith, Beatty & Conlin (Std-Ex Pic)

We gotta hand it to OAD proprietors Beatty, Conlin and Smith, who, in the finest spirit of opportunistic American free enterprise are making hay with this little tempest in a teapot, and cashing in big-time on all the free publicity. This morning's followup editorial reports that the story's now gone viral, and the SE editorial board is exactly right. Here's a brief sampling of the array of stories on this topic now appearing at various prominent sites across the web:

• Idaho bans Five Wives Vodka for being offensive (Fox News)
• Does Five Wives Vodka Offend Mormons? (ABC News)
• Five Wives Vodka Banned By The State Of Idaho (Huffington Post) 
• Five Wives Vodka can get a seat at the bar in Utah, not in Idaho (Los Angeles Times)
• Banned In Idaho, 'Five Wives' Vodka Says It Meant No Offense (NPR)

And that's just the tip of the iceburg.  There's more... much, much more.

Here's our reco.  Why not mosey on down to your local Utah DABC package store and score yourself a bottle of this fine locally-made artisan product right now?  Not only will you be supporting a local Ogden business, but you'll become a participant in history... in a roundabout way.

And if you're a non-imbiber, howbout a nice "Free the Five Wives" T-shirt for your next Two-five Drive Farmers Market summer morning stroll? We're sure these fine and attractive pieces of apparel will be de rigueur on the streets of Ogden 'til the cold weather hits around November.

And keep your heads down, folks.  The Standard predicts there's an upcoming Utah-Idaho trade war, probably something akin to the storied Hatfield-McCoy West Virginia-Kentucky "border war" back in the days of yore, we reckon.

So who'll be the first to toss in their own 2¢?