A Virginia liquor store trashed by a drunken raccoon who went on a wild bender through the shopand was discovered blacked out in its bathroom has unveiled three new cocktails inspired by the now viral burglary.
On Nov. 29, a “very intoxicated” raccoon broke open several bottles of liquor, drank the booze and then passed out face-down inside the restroom at a Virginia ABC in Ashland, Hanover County.
Since then, the masked bandit, whom the Hanover Animal Protection and Shelter affectionately labeled the “trashed panda,” went mega-viral and even earned its own impersonation on “Saturday Night Live”.
Virginia ABC wasted no time latching onto its newest sensation and crafted three cocktails inspired by the raccoon’s mischievous store break-in.
The line-up includes the Rye Rascal Sour, Trash Panda Old Fashioned, and Midnight Gin Fizz, which are all featured on the Virginia ABC website alongside edited photos of a raccoon holding each drink.
Each cocktail includes two ounces of the respective spirit in the classic drinks and a little something extra inspired by the “trashed panda,” ranging from a dash of maple syrup in the Rye Rascal Sour to brown sugar syrup in the Trash Panda Old Fashioned.
Virginia ABC also released the full surveillance footage that showed the raccoon innocently poking around the store — before it apparently broke into multiple bottles of alcohol.
The raccoon could be seen staggering through the hallway and leaving a trail of shattered liquor bottles in its wake while lapping up a few more shots before it eventually wandered to the bathroom, as seen in the surveillance footage obtained by WRIC.
After its jaunt through the liquor store, the unharmed critter was safely released back into the Virginia wilderness, shelter officials assured.
“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 officials said in a cheeky Facebook post.
The raccoon-themed drinks are just one of multiple new ad campaigns centered around the tipsy miscreant. On Dec. 5, the 92nd anniversary of when Prohibition ended, Spirited Virginia shared a rendering of a raccoon seated at a bar with a large bottle of bourbon.
“Cheers to repeal day… and to the raccoon who always knows where to find good spirits (just not this bottle),” Spirited Virginia wrote on Facebook.
Hanover County officials also launched a T-shirt campaign celebrating “Ashland Drunk Raccoon.” The shirt simply reads “Trashed Panda” alongside a sketch of the dazed raccoon in question and a spilled bottle of wine, according to its website.
On Saturday, comedian Sarah Sherman impersonated the inebriated nightcrawler on SNL’s “Weekend Update.”
In the segment, Sherman — dressed in a full furry raccoon costume — fumbled with a bottle of alcohol she wound up knocking right off the desk and took on the air of a clumsy drunk with a love of booze as she touched on raccoons’ poor reputation.
“We hear what you call us. Trash pandas. Dumpster dogs. The Sarah Shermans of the forest,” raccoon-Sherman joked.
The raccoon isn’t the only animal in Virginia wreaking havoc on local businesses.
Last Tuesday, a tiny kitten flooded a cat café in Richmond, Va. after it somehow wound up in a tussle with a sink and a towel. The café is shut down for the remainder of the year as it works on extensive repairs, though the kitten in question is still up for adoption.
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