Heaven Hill Issued A Statement After People Used Their Whiskey To Celebrate The Rittenhouse Verdict

Last week’s verdict in the Kyle Rittenhosue trial — which saw the Illinois teenager acquitted on all charges connected to the fatal shooting of two protestors (a third was wounded) in Kenosha Wisconsin last summer — continues to reverberate through the country. Reactions to this news have become a sort of litmus test for where people fall across the political spectrum, which has, in turn, led to some truly repugnant behavior.

According to Whiskey Raiders, some on the political right have celebrated the news (remember, two humans were killed), by toasting Heaven Hill’s Rittenhouse rye whiskey. Heaven Hill took to Twitter Sunday morning to distance themselves from the shootings, writing in a short thread:

“We have been disheartened 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… 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.”

The Heaven Hill twitter also explained the origins of its name, which was meant as a commemoration of Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse square. Reactions to that tweet were (maddeningly) mixed, with some applauding the brand’s decision and call for peace and others implying that the company should stay out of politics altogether.

It’s hard to fathom how urging us to create a “more peaceful and respectful place for all” feels political, but that is the world we live in, sadly.