Trump Vodka was an American brand of

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

produced at first in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, then later in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Drinks Americas Drinks Americas () is a beverage distribution company headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut. Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd., develops, owns, markets, and internationally distributes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages associated with celebrities. ...

under license from

the Trump Organization The Trump Organization, Inc. is an American Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Privately owned by Donald Trump, it serves as the holding company for most of Business career of Donald Trump, Trump's business ventures and investments, with ar ...

. The brand was launched in the United States in 2005, but ceased production under the Trump name in 2011 when it failed to meet the required threshold for distribution. However, it is still sold (in 2016) in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, especially around the

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

History

In 2005,

signed with

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to promote a new brand of vodka which became known as Trump Vodka. The brand was launched with the slogan "Success Distilled", with Trump predicting it would outsell Grey Goose vodka. He also said that when mixed with tonic, which he referred to as a "Trump & Tonic" (T&T), it would become the most drunk cocktail in the United States. In 2007, Drinks Americas signed a deal to export 50,000 cases of Trump Vodka annually to Russia. The Trump Vodka brand was discontinued in the United States in 2011 due to sales failing to meet the company threshold requirements. Several reasons were attributed for this. One was because Trump himself is a non-drinker and never drank Trump Vodka, as he blamed alcohol for the death of his brother Fred Trump, Jr. Drinks Americas also had problems producing it because the glass used in the bottles and the

gold leaf upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...

labels were expensive and the company could not afford to produce them in large numbers. In 2015, during his campaign for president, Trump did not include Trump Vodka amongst assets submitted to the

Federal Election Committee The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

Lawsuits

Drinks Americas was subject to several lawsuits surrounding Trump Vodka. Bruni Glass sued over unpaid bills and, consequently, melted 500,000 Trump Vodka mini-bottles ready for shipment. Donald Trump also sued Drinks Americas for unpaid royalties, but the case was dismissed for lack of

subject matter jurisdiction Subject-matter jurisdiction, also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae'', is a legal doctrine regarding the ability of a court to lawfully hear and adjudicate a case. Subject-matter relates to the nature of a case; whether it is criminal, ci ...

Israel

Trump Vodka started being sold unofficially in Israel by H. Pixel International based on a signed deal with Drinks Americas, but Trump brought a lawsuit against the company for copyright infringement, as they did not have his agreement to use his image in advertising or the brand. However, Trump later dropped the lawsuit and signed a deal with H. Pixel International to allow them to sell Trump Vodka in Israel. Despite the failures in the United States, Trump Vodka found a level of popularity in Israel. This was because it was a popular choice around

for both secular and

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

, as the vodka was made from

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

and not grain, thus satisfying

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

for Passover dietary laws. However, some Trump Vodka produced in 2013 was found to contain leavened ingredients, making it unsuitable for consumption during Passover.

References

{{Trump businesses American vodkas Food and drink introduced in 2005 Israeli vodkas Kosher drinks Assets owned by the Trump Organization

History

Lawsuits

Israel

See also

References