This New Superstar-Branded Whiskey Has Racked Up Major Awards. Now You Can Finally Get a Taste

In today's age of celebrity-branded alcohol, only a handful of stars could create anything that will register big on the spirit seismometer. A-listers like The Rock, Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney, and Ryan Reynolds have all launched stratospheric labels. So have Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Hart, Margot Robbie, Michael Jordan, Emma Watson and her brother Alex. And let's not forget the guys from Vampire Diaries, and so on. Each week seems to bring a new announcement. 

At this point, what celeb would think of launching something in a sector more crowded than Times Square and expect people to turn their heads—and open their wallets? Well, there is one who makes waves no matter what she does: Beyoncé. 

Yep, that Beyoncé has just launched SirDavis Whisky with Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH). It's named for Davis Hogue, Beyoncé's great-grandfather—a Prohibition-era farmer and moonshiner in the American South, who "stashed whisky bottles in the empty knots of cedar trees," the release reads, "for friends and kin to find and enjoy."

“I’ve always been drawn to the power and confidence I feel when drinking quality whisky and wanted to invite more people to experience that feeling,” says Beyoncé. “When I discovered that my great-grandfather had been a moonshine man, it felt like my love for whisky was fated. SirDavis is a way for me to pay homage to him, uniting us through a new shared legacy.” 

It's not just another product with a celebrity name. LVMH has put their full weight and creative prowess behind the release, tapping one of the spirits industry's most exciting characters to lead the creation of the product: Dr. Bill Lumsden, head distiller of Ardbeg and Glenmorangie.

Lumsden is known for his innovative releases, and for SirDavis he crafted something unique. The American whiskey has a mash bill of 51 percent rye and 49 percent malted barley that goes through a secondary maturation in sherry casks. According to the press release, he used traditional whisky making techniques typically saved for Scotch and Japanese whisky. However, exactly what that means remains a bit of a mystery.

“With SirDavis, we looked to challenge the category norms and offer something new in the space,” says Lumsden. “The distinctive grain selection and unusual secondary maturation in sherry casks helped us achieve a signature profile completely unique to SirDavis, one of bold sophistication.”

SirDavis also celebrates Beyoncé's roots. The whiskey is finished, blended, and bottled in Beyoncé’s home state of Texas, and headquartered in Houston. The bottle features ribbed glass and a black medallion with a bronzed horse at the center. It’s simple, powerful, and fits incredibly well into the Cowboy Carter era of Beyoncé's career.

Although many have been kept in the dark about its impending release, the whiskey has made the rounds at spirits awards, picking up trophies and high ratings. SirDavis won Best In Class for American Whiskey from the 2023 SIP Awards, as well as a Gold Medal (95 points) from the 2023 New York International Spirits Competition and a 93-point rating from the 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge.

SirDavis retails for $89 and can currently be pre-ordered via SirDavis.com. It will be available at retailers across the U.S., as well as in select airports and stores in September.

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