Beyoncé Is Launching a New Whisky Brand: SirDavis

Queen Bey’s empire now includes a whiskey.

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter announced on Tuesday that she’s partnering with Moët Hennessy — a division of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH — on a new American whiskey brand: SirDavis Whisky.

SirDavis, which will be headquartered in Knowles-Carter’s hometown of Houston, Texas, is the 32-time Grammy winner’s first foray into the spirits industry. This spirit’s name is a tribute to her paternal great-grandfather, Davis Hogue, a “moonshine man” and farmer in the South who lived during Prohibition. (He apparently hid whiskey bottles in the empty knots of cedar trees for his loved ones to discover.)

“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. 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. In partnering with Moët Hennessy, we have crafted a delicious American whisky that respects tradition but also empowers people to experience something new and unique in the category,” Beyoncé says of SirDavis, which will retail for $89 and be available at select retailers across the United States, Tokyo, Paris, and London in September. Pre-sale orders begin today online on SirDavis.com.

Shortly before the pandemic, Beyoncé — who is partial to Japanese whisky — approached LVMH with the idea of launching her own spirits brand. (Her husband, billionaire rap mogul Jay-Z, had a previous relationship with LVMH, having sold 50% of his Champagne brand, Armand de Brignac, to the French conglomerate.) In response, Moët Hennessy tapped Dr. Bill Lumsden, often referred to as the “mad scientist of Scotch whisky,” known for his experimental work at both the Glenmorangie and Ardbeg distilleries, to lead the project. From the outset, it was clear that Beyoncé had a vision for her whisky.

“As a founder and as a partner, I can’t imagine a more involved individual. It just kind of harkens back to how meticulous — about everything — she is,” says Cameron George, a longtime Ardbeg ambassador, who is now the global head of advocacy and blender for SirDavis. “Everything about this brand is very new. This is the first American spirits brand that Moët Hennessy has ever launched and built from the ground up instead of through acquisition. Mrs. Knowles-Carter is not afraid to reinvent and redefine herself, and that’s actually the aim of the brand: to redefine the space of whiskey.”

Clocking in at 88 proof, SirDavis has an uncommon mash bill for an American whiskey: 51% rye and 49% malted barley. This technically classifies the spirit as an American rye, but one that favors the malted barley found more typically in Scotch and Japanese whiskies rather than the corn favored by many American distillers to fill out their mash.

SirDavis, which is finished, blended, and bottled in Texas, also employs a two-step aging process: First in American oak barrels, with a secondary maturation in former Pedro Ximénez casks. The result is a softer, more nuanced whisky with a subtle rye profile that only makes itself known toward the back palate. The barrel finishing process is intended to enhance viscosity and create a spirit that lingers longer after sipping.

“We decided early on that while we could have used Scotch whisky or Japanese whisky in the recipe, we felt it had to be an American whiskey. So there is a proportion of rye in there that brings the Americana, but it’s a very unusual mash bill,” says Dr. Lumsden, who spoke to his thought process behind the grain selection during a tasting with Food & Wine. “The rye brings the American aspect in. The malted barley brings a little bit of Scottishness in there — these nice, rich, malted barley, biscuity type flavors. But we agreed that we could still make it better. We then went back and did some more work on it, experimenting with a number of finishes. Ultimately, Beyoncé preferred the finishing of this whisky in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks from Spain, as it gave the whisky the rounded softness she was seeking.” 

Dr. Lumsden and George are keen to point out, though, that the whisky is entirely Beyoncé’s.

“We’ve co-created this with [Beyoncé]. This is her whisky. Cameron and I first met with her for the first time a couple of years ago and spent hours with her,” says Dr. Lumsden. “We tasted all sorts of whisky. We tasted Japanese whiskies. We tasted Scotch whiskies. We tasted a range of American whiskeys. And we even tasted some Irish whiskeys. And at the end of that, we had more of a feel for what she liked and what she was looking for.” 

Leaving no detail to chance, Beyoncé also had a vision for SirDavis’ packaging. The whisky is housed in a tall, ribbed bottle, reminiscent of a vintage perfume vessel, affixed with a bronze horse atop a black medallion — a nod to the 42-year-old musician’s Texas roots. With those roots in mind, Sir Davis will also be building a visitors’ center in Houston for Queen Bey’s legion of fans.

SirDavis is also unusual for a new-to-market spirit in one other sense: It’s already won four awards before it has even hit the market. Long before its launch, to substantiate the whisky’s quality, the whisky was entered anonymously into a number of spirits competitions. To date, it has won Platinum and Best in Class for American Whiskey from the 2023 SIP Awards; a Gold Medal from the 2023 New York International Spirits Competition; and a 93-point rating from the 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge.

“The product had to be very, very special,” adds Dr. Lumsden, “if it’s carrying an association with Beyoncé.”