Stolichnaya release special, limited edition vodka celebrating the legacy of gay pioneer Harvey Milk
The Harvey Milk Foundation has teamed up with vodka brand Stoli on the limited edition bottle. (Bettmann)
A vodka brand has teamed up with charity The Harvey Milk Foundation to honour the first openly gay elected official in the history of California for Pride 2021.
They will release a limited edition bottle which features gay pioneer Harvey Milk’s famous quote, “Hope Will Never Be Silent”.
It will be available from 22 May to coincide with Harvey Milk Day, which marks his birthday and is an annual celebration to remember and teach the younger generation about Milk’s life and his work, and in turn stop discrimination against LGBT+ people.
The vodka, from top brand Stoli, will be available from leading spirit retailers including Master of Malt in the UK and Reserve Bar in the US.
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Stoli has confirmed that proceeds will be donated to The Harvey Milk Foundation to help support its LGBT+ initiatives in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.
It features a bottle design by Paraguayan street artist Oz Montania; his mural is a “reminder that Pride is powerful and political.”
The Russian vodka, which is priced at £18.95, has been described as having, “light hints of orange, vanilla-y grain and menthol” by tasters at Master of Malt.
Stoli revealed the release date just ahead of Pride Month, as “a way to remind the world that despite the necessary changes to the way Pride is celebrated this year, the spirit of pride Pride remains strong.”
Miriam Richter, education director and counsel of the foundation says: “The 2021 HMF/Stoli collaboration is a message to people all over the globe that visibility is vital and that hope can not be silenced, not just LGBTQ+ people, but for ALL people.”
It marks the second time Stoli has worked with The Harvey Milk Foundation, having launched the first bottle in 2018 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Milk taking office in California in 1978.
Milk was the first openly gay person elected to public office in the US, who dedicated his life to advocate for a more inclusive society while battling against homophobic legislators and groups.
Ten months after taking office, on 27 November he was assassinated by his political opponent and former supervisor Dan White.
Since then his legacy has been celebrated in books, an Oscar-winning film, an opera, a navy ship with his name and even a postage stamp.
