German businessman Uwe Dahlhoff has trademarked “Grexit” for his new vodka schnapps.
By Cari Jorgensen
For years Greece was somewhere I had always wanted to go. In 2013 I was lucky enough to do so and spent a month there. I landed in Athens and was there long enough to meet my driver, who took me on a two-hour road trip to my first Greek destination: Methana. A peninsula in the Peloponnese, Methana is home to therapeutic baths and a nice little sea town. It was the perfect place to begin my month in Greece. I spent a week there on a writing retreat with a group of writers from countries all over the world. From there I went back to Athens, then to a couple islands. After Mykonos and Santorini I went on a week-long road trip through Mainland Greece, stopping in Meteora, Delphi, Olympia, Nafplio and a few other towns before heading back to Athens. It was on that road trip that the severity of Greece’s economic crisis was made apparent.
Now, with the country heavily in debt and making the news, I am reminded of that trip. I have friends who still live there who don’t speak often of the crisis, though they believe you have to make the best of the situation and find a way to come out stronger and wiser on the other side. Perhaps making the best out of an unfortunate situation was the reasoning behind Grexit Vodka. “Grexit,” for those who don’t know, refers to the possibility of Greece exiting the Eurozone (it’s a combination of the words “Greek” and “exit”). German entrepreneur Uwe Dahlhoff has trademarked the word and is using it as the name of his new lemon vodka schnapps, The Pappas Post reports. The label is a depiction of Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister, and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. The men are raising a glass and smiling. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also depicted on the label, giving what can only be described as a sour look at Tsipras and Varoufakis.
The Pappas Post asked Dahlhoff if his vodka “was making light of the serious issue of Greece’s debt problem.” Dahlhoff replied that it was satire and “sometimes you just have to make fun of these things.”
Dahlhoff plans on releasing the lemon vodka schnapps next week. Grexit Vodka will be available in 2 cl and 100 ml bottles, with prices starting at .59 euro.