8 Black-Owned Spirits and Wines You Should Be Drinking

You already know August is the last month of summer vacation and the height of Leo season, but it’s also National Black Business Month. Within the wine and spirits industry specifically, Black producers and brand-makers are creating inspiring and flavorful beverages, but not necessarily getting the financial backing and resources that other brands get.

To combat this issue within the drinks community, notable wine and spirits producers within the Black community have created events at internationally renowned food and beverage festivals to get the word out about these businesses. One of these advocates is Jackie Summers, the founder of Sorel Liqueur, who created the inaugural All Black Err’Thang Tasting at this year’s Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.

Uncle Nearest Launches $50 Million Venture Fund to Help BIPOC and Women-Owned Spirits Brands

The fastest-growing whiskey brand in U.S. history will help other minority-owned companies

“Since the transition of Tales in 2018, there was never a space created solely for highlighting Black-owned brands,” says Summers. “Most of the activations are pretty expensive for the brands trying to figure out how to survive. We thought it would be a good idea to do an activation and invite as many Black-owned brands — the ones who don’t get big attention – and put them under our umbrella so they can shine their own light.”

Here are some of the established and up-and-coming spirit brands that were featured at this event, all of which can be bought in the United States (we’ve found some of these on Drizly and ReserveBar).

Jackie Summers and his hibiscus liqueur Sorel

Sorel

Sorel Liqueur

Sorel was founded by Jackie Summers in 2012, making him the first documented Black person post-Prohibition to have a license to make liquor. The story of this beverage is more than 500 years old because it holds a cultural identifier that goes back to pre-colonized Africa. Hibiscus, which is the main ingredient in Sorel, was used medicinally in Africa for generations and, even through the trauma of the transatlantic slave trade, the practice of making hibiscus-based drinks survived and is an integral part of many Caribbean nations (Summers’s family came from Barbados in the 1920s). If you’ve ever wondered why almost the entire African diaspora has a version of “the red drink,” it all dates back to this very special sweet and sour flower.

LS Cream

Myriam Jean-Baptiste, a first-generation Haitian-Canadian, is the founder of LS Cream. “LS Cream is inspired by a Haitian drink called cremas,” says Jean-Baptiste. For those who are unfamiliar with cremas, think of it as a more flavorful, Haitian Baileys. “The recipe for cremas is passed down from generation to generation, and every family member does a different version,” she says. “Some do it thicker, some do it more liquid, but we decided to bottle my husband’s grandmother’s recipe.” After having friends and family lining up outside of their home every time they made a batch, they decided it was time to start a business.

Greenwood Whiskey

Kweillin Gordon is one of the four founders of Greenwood, a whiskey brand that pays homage to the history and tragedy of the Greenwood district in Tulsa, OK (also known as Black Wall Street). Gordon and his three co-founders (Sheldon Johns-Harris, James Roach and Che Bailey) have been friends for over 15 years, and all have a passion for entrepreneurship. “We decided that if we’re going to do something, we need to do it as a team,” says Gordon. “Our love for whiskey is what brought us together, so we started the Greenwood Whiskey brand.”

Abisola Whiskey

Abisola means “a child born into wealth” in Yoruba, a language spoken in Western Africa. “Whiskey has always been my liquor of choice and I realized that there weren’t enough brands that represented the modern-day whiskey drinker,” says founder Abisola Abidemi. “The demographics have changed so much in the last 30 years of who drinks whiskey, but you won’t know that because what’s on the shelves is still marketed towards the old ideals of who drinks whiskey: old white men.” With the increase of younger women, particularly women of color, partaking in whiskey, Abidemi wanted to be the representation of the modern imbiber from inside the industry.

Redd Rose Vodka

Taylor Redd started Redd Rose Vodka in 2020, just before the pandemic. She had been working in the beverage industry for 10 years prior to starting her brand and noticed that vodka- and rum-based drinks were some of the most popular among bar-goers, so she decided to launch her own brand of flavored vodka. “Right now, I have a strawberry lemon vodka and by the end of the year I’ll also have an amaretto lemon, too,” says Redd.

Uncle Waithley’s Ginger Beer

Founded by Karl Franz Williams in honor of his grandfather, Uncle Waithley, this non-alcoholic beverage was paired with almost every spirit at the All Black Err’Thang event, from a Sorel and ginger beer slushie to a take on a Moscow Mule but with Redd Rose Vodka, St-Germain and ginger beer. What makes this ginger beer stand apart from the crowd for any non-drinkers at a party? The Scotch bonnet pepper. “My family is from St. Vincent, my grandfather spent his whole life on the island,” says Williams. “Scotch bonnet is a pepper that’s prized throughout the Caribbean and it gives our drink a distinctly Caribbean taste. Plus, there’s a long, warming heat that our palette can’t necessarily distinguish from a ginger-bite to a pepper-bite, which adds an interesting layer to a cocktail.”

At this year’s Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, CO, some of the world’s most prolific Black beverage makers gathered to share their wine and their hopes for the coming year at the Black on Black Dinner v.II at the Hotel Jerome (which also happens to be the only hotel in Aspen with a Black general manager).

Here are some names to look out for in stores near you from this gathering.

UrbanVino

Jena Domingue is the CEO of UrbanVino, a wine brand and wine club that introduces people to marginalized vintners, as well as women- and celebrity-owned brands. The idea for UrbanVino first started 10 years ago in Alameda, CA. “[My friend and I] reminisced about growing up just 15 minutes away from the renowned wine country of Napa Valley, yet feeling somewhat excluded from the wine community,” says Domingue. “At that very moment, I made a decision to create something special with people of color in mind, and that’s when UrbanVino came to life.” Last year, the company launched their Grand Cuvée California sparkling wine (which is a blend of California fruit and South African Muscat), and they continue to be a space for sharing other wine brands within the Black community.

Earl Stevens Selections

Founded by the multi-platinum musician and entrepreneur Earl “E-40” Stevens, this wine collection has something for everyone. From their Strawberry and Orangesicle wines to their Chardonnay and red blends, Stevens and his team have been letting their creativity shine in the world of wine. He and his wife, Tracey (they are childhood sweethearts), have always been close to the world of wine. “Being from Vallejo, California — which is right next door to Napa — my wife and I would always go to the winery when we were younger and of age,” says Stevens. “As I got older, I saw an opportunity to get into a space — where there aren’t many Black and Brown owners — and leverage my resources to make an impact in the adult beverage industry and pave the way for a new era of entrepreneurs.”