Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation. Photo: Meagan Racey / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The Penobscot Nation of Maine is planning to launch its own brand of vodka that will be sold to tribal casinos, The Bangor Daily News reports. Pine Distilling, a subsidiary of the tribe's economic development arm, Penobscot Indian Nation Enterprises, secured a federal permit to process, bottle and ship spirits, the paper reported. The vodka is expected to be sold under the name "P8GUI" -- pronounced Ba-GUI, a tribal word for pristine or clean -- according to archived pages from a down-for-maintenance website. “Until our internal permits are done, I have no comment about something that does not exist at this point,” Chief Kirk Francis told the paper when asked about the plan. The distillery would be located in an existing building on Indian Island, on the tribe's reservation. Some tribal citizens oppose the project. The tribe does not appear to have a liquor ordinance that's been approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The federal permit was presumably secured from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Read More on the Story:
Maine tribe’s plan to sell vodka to casinos fuels conflict on Indian Island (The Bangor Daily News 1/6)
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