Viral ‘Drunk Raccoon’ Commemorated with Liquor Store Fundraising Drive

(Photos: Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter/Facebook, Virginia Distillery Company)

The Virginia Distillery Company is commemorating its home state’s latest viral star — the chaos-causing, whiskey-loving drunk raccoon — with a fundraiser to support local animal shelters.

Over the weekend, a break-in at a Virginia ABC liquor store left a puddle of smashed rum, moonshine, peanut butter whiskey, vodka and eggnog bottles strewn across the aisles. The suspect? None other than a raccoon, found dazed and spread-eagled in the store’s bathroom by a surprised employee opening up shop in the morning. Local authorities arriving at the scene confirmed that the furry bandit was “very intoxicated.” Officers secured the suspect and brought him back to a shelter to “sober up before questioning,” according to a now widely circulated Facebook post.

“After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer,” Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter wrote.

(Photo: Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter)

The incident had all the makings of a viral hit. The New York Times, Fox and NBC swooped in to report on the feel-drunk story, inspiring a wave of memes that’s since taken off on social media feeds. (Cue the obligatory jokes about trash pandas and “party animals.”)

Local businesses and non-profits have now gotten in on the fun. On Thursday, the Virginia Distillery Company unveiled a “Raccoon Approved Whisky” shirt and sticker, both of which will donate a portion of proceeds to local animal shelters. The sticker comes bundled with any online whisky order, while the shirts are available for purchase at $35 each.

“While we take great pride in crafting exceptional whisky, we didn’t expect it to appeal quite so strongly to local wildlife,” the distillery wrote in a news release. “The internet, however, had zero doubts. Our lighthearted response set off a wave of news coverage, thousands of social interactions, and an unexpected flood of one question: “Where can we get raccoon merch?” Message received.”

Virginia ABC capitalized on the occasion with a trio of raccoon-themed drinks. Recipes include the Midnight Masked Gin Fizz, described as “a lively, mischievous cocktail that’s equal parts citrus sparkle and berry mischief,” and the Trash Panda Old Fashioned, which “tastes like something a resourceful raccoon would proudly mix after a late night visit to an ABC store.”