Five wives vodka banned in Idaho because it is offensive to Mormons... but Polygamy Porter is still allowed

And it's OK in Utah! Another case of people getting "offended" on behalf of someone else

"Five Wives Vodka was named in bad taste and won't be stocked or special ordered at stores operated by the state of Idaho, regulators said.

The middle-shelf vodka is made by Ogden's Own Distillery in Utah, where the Mormon church is based. Its label carries the name and an image of five women, an apparent reference to polygamy, a practice abandoned by the church more than a century ago.

Idaho State Liquor Division administrator Jeff Anderson said the brand is offensive to Mormons who make up over a quarter of Idaho's population.

Ogden's Own Distillery is trying to make the most of the rejection with a media campaign and sale of 'Free the Five Wives' T-shirts.

It says the snub is unfair because a Utah beer named Polygamy Porter is available in Idaho. Anderson said Idaho doesn't decide what beer brands can be sold in grocery and convenience stores.

'We're a little dumbfounded by it all,' said Steve Conlin, a partner and marketing chief for Ogden's Own Distillery.

'The average person can look at our bottle and they don't find it offensive. It's certainly not obscene, which is what it would require for it to be banned.'

Five Wives Vodka has been approved for sale in Utah, a state dominated by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's also available in Wyoming, another state that regulates liquor sales.

Nobody in Utah is raising a fuss over the brand, said Vickie Ashby, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).