Rittenhouse Rye wants the republicans to stop using its whiskey to toast Kyle Rittenhouse’s not guilty verdict for there is no connection at all.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, has been charged with counts of intentional, reckless endangerment, and reckless and attempted homicide, as well as curfew violation, homicide, and possession of a firearm as a minor.
He fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, who died during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He also injured Gaige Grosskreutz, 26 during the protest.
After days of deliberation over evidence that included extensive video footage, a jury found the teen “not guilty” for the shooting deaths of two men and wounding of a third during the riot last year.
The Judge’s ruling on the case has continued to provoke backlash across the world including students from Arizona State University who organized a rally to remove Rittenhouse from the campus.
However, in the wake of his verdict, some whiskey lovers began purchasing bottles of “Rittenhouse Rye” to celebrate. The brand name is derived not from the recent court case but from Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, an open-space park designed by William Penn and named for an early 19th-century papermaker.
Whiskey Raiders, a trade publication for the spirits industry, first reported the news saying, “A quick search reveals a great number of tweets regarding celebrating the verdict with Heaven Hill’s rye. “Bartender, give me a Rittenhouse Rye on the rocks and make it a double! Justice has been served,” wrote one user”.
Heaven Hill Brands, the company that owns the whiskey firm, has since published a statement in Twitter saying: “We lost our confidence to learn that some individuals and businesses have been using our Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whiskey brand to celebrate the Kyle Rittenhouse case verdict, despite the profound loss of life from those events”.
“There is no link between our Rittenhouse Rye brand, which was started post-Prohibition to commemorate Rittenhouse Square, and this case. It is our strongly held belief that in serious matters such as this, where lives were lost and people deeply affected, there is no cause for celebration, but instead deep reflection on how we can make the world a more peaceful and respectful place for all,” it added.
The company reiterated that there was no link between the liquor’s name and the Rittenhouse verdict and said the case was “no cause for celebration.”
Though the message wasn’t taken too well by those who it was intended for as they responded with the phrase: “Go woke, go broke,” and saying they wouldn’t buy the brand’s products again.
Conservative outlets hit back at the brand as the controversy began to grow online. Breitbart claimed the brand “went full woke” and Daily Wire called it an “odd marketing move.”
Twitter users have attacked Heaven Hill Brands saying the company gave in to “the demands of the mobs” and they’ll be boycotting the company’s products.
Jesse Kelly, radio show host said of the post, “Rule #1: You don’t have to respond to everyone. In fact, don’t have to respond to ANYTHING. Shut your freaking mouth and let it blow over. Here’s a great example why that’s Rule #1.”
Meanwhile, others were happy to see the company taking a stance against their product being used in this way and praised the brand for condemning the verdict.
The Kentucky-based company describes itself as the “largest independent, family-owned and operated producer and marketer of spirits” in the U.S.