All photos by Johanna Stickland for InsideHook
The spirits business is no stranger to celebrity-backed drinks. But when I heard Ja Rule was behind a new whiskey brand, my 17-year-old self dancing to hip-hop on teen night at The Boot in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was intrigued and had to know more. So last week, Ja Rule joined us at InsideHook to chat about Amber & Opal and mix us a few cocktails behind the office bar.
“It’s not like I didn’t like whiskey — it just wasn’t my go-to drinking choice,” Ja Rule says when I ask him if he was a fan of the category before launching Amber & Opal. “But it is now.”
So how did the 49-year-old rapper get into the whiskey business? Like a lot of good ideas that have emerged in the past five years, COVID times brought some new opportunities.
“One of the things that came across our table was a guy selling his whole warehouse of whiskey in Iowa,” he says. “We were going to wait until it got to seven years old and sell it as a premium bourbon. Herb [Rice, Ja Rule’s business partner] lives in Baltimore, the home of rye. So he found a distillery not too far from him, and they give us a quick education on whiskey and told us the aged bourbon wouldn’t be good to use for the honey whiskey we wanted to make because it would destroy the age and process. So we bought these [Maryland rye] barrels from these guys, and those are the barrels we used to create this specific blend.”
The honey in Amber & Opal gives it a smooth, luxurious texture. As a seasoned whiskey drinker, I love the burn of an overproof spirit, but I can get down with something as easy to drink as this. And really, that’s exactly what they wanted to achieve.
“We like to say we’ve created this product for the whiskey-curious,” Ja Rule says, “the guy like me who doesn’t want it to burn going down.” And they’ve already found fans in that regard.
“We were at Anthony Anderson’s golf tournament, and my guy, Alonzo Mourning, the Hall of Fame basketball player, is there,” Ja Rule recounts. “He’s at the bar basically bullying people to drink the whiskey because he felt it was so good. There’s nothing better than that feeling, knowing people are tasting it and actually liking it.”
Amber & Opal is a Maryland straight rye with a mash bill of 75% rye and 25% malted rye. In addition to orange blossom honey, the spirit is infused with fig, ginger, cinnamon and a touch of lapsang souchong black tea. According to Ja Rule, there was an in-depth tasting process to get familiar with what different types of honey, spices and teas could do for the spirit.
“It was funny for me because I’m in the room like, ‘Guys, I don’t fucking know what I’m tasting.’ I don’t drink whiskey like this, so all I wanted to taste was something I could drink. For them, other things were important, like that smoke on the finish. So, it really worked out that both sides were able to have that tasting experience in the room — the complete amateur and the guys who were a little more seasoned.”
Ja Rule’s amateur status as a whiskey drinker has caused some people to criticize him on the internet, but he laughs it off with good-natured humor. “I said I like my whiskey neat in a video, but it was on the rocks,” he laughs. “I got roasted for this online. But I do like it over a little ice, especially when it starts to melt a little bit.”
The whiskey does taste great either way, and the honey and other botanicals give it an easy-drinking personality (according to the rapper, if his whiskey were a Ja Rule song, it would be “Put It on Me” because they’re both “real smooth and velvety feeling”). But the crowd favorite of the day was a cocktail made with Amber & Opal, lemon juice, pomegranate juice and maple syrup. It was tangy and just a touch sweet, perfect for sipping during an outdoor hang.
Although Amber & Opal just hit the market, Ja Rule and his team already have their sophomore bottle in mind.
“Remember I told you about that warehouse? Those barrels are close to nine years old now,” he says. “I think we’ll come with that maybe in another year or so, and it’ll be our premium 10-year-old bourbon by Amber & Opal. We’re lucky to have that in our back pocket.”
Maybe he’ll be able to convert some of those whiskey-curious customers into enthusiasts, who’ll be excited to try the next bottle.
“Now you’re graduating!” he says about the possibility. “I’m going to graduate, too.”
More Like This
Every Thursday, our resident experts see to it that you’re up to date on the latest from the world of drinks. Trend reports, bottle reviews, cocktail recipes and more. Sign up for THE SPILL now.