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Top 10
Top 10 Black-owned spirits brands to watch
To mark Black History Month, we are shining a light on 10 Black-owned spirits brands that are making waves and should be on your radar – if they aren’t already.
As the US celebrates Black History Month, recognising the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans throughout US history, we’ve looked to the spirits brands that have been brought to market by entrepreneurs and innovators within the global Black community.
From investment-backed businesses and emerging products, to producers with a philanthropic ethos at their core, these are the spirits brands we’ll be watching in 2025 and beyond.
Geneba Tequila
Despite having been conceived in 2012, Geneba Tequila is just making its debut into the world. It’s coming with a mission to gather, grow and give to women by celebrating femininity with ‘elegance and audacity’.
Founded by Chicago native IngridLaVon, Geneba has been created to be a ‘Tequila for women’, and is described as a first-of-its-kind sipping spirit that is poised to revolutionise the industry.
Named in honour of the founder’s late mother, Geneva, who ‘epitomised empowerment, resilience, and timeless elegance’, and crafted for a confident woman to enjoy in a wine glass or on the rocks, Geneba Tequila is available in two expressions: blanco and reposado. The former is double-distilled, and offers herbal notes of cooked agave, mint, green pepper, spearmint and lime, while the reposado boasts notes of vanilla, cinnamon, red apple, and chocolate.
Afrique Vodka
Born from a passion for Africa’s heritage, Afrique Spirits is a female-founded brand that blends carefully curated tropical fruits to deliver a ‘distinctive’ flavour experience within its vodka range, while reflecting the continent’s diversity.
Founded by Jayne Doherty and Beverley Annan-Forson, Afrique Spirits also proudly dedicates a percentage of its profits to supporting foundations focused on agricultural development in the countries from which it sources its premium ingredients. In the future, the brand plans to secure farmland, promote local ingredient production, and provide employment opportunities for communities grappling with substantial poverty in Africa.
The vodka benefits from dual flavour innovation, as well as a departure from a traditional grain base of wheat, instead using sugar beet to create an ‘exceptionally smooth’ finish for its three expressions: Original, Apple & Coconut, and Mango & Papita.
Fior Scotch
After a distinguished 20-year career in the US military, which included three tours in Iraq and two in Okinawa, amateur whisky collector and enthusiast Marine major Eric Dominijanni started to “decant the dregs of particularly good Scotches” to create his infinity bottle. Eventually, he said, the blend became so good that he “didn’t want to change it” and as such, his own blended whisky brand, Fior, was born.
“When the Infinity Bottle started to run low, I realised that once it was gone, I would have to start all over. I contacted a long-time friend who works in the liquor industry to see if he could help me. He was able to help me recreate the taste, aroma, and smoothness of that original infinity blend. It was spot on.”
The super-premium small-batch whisky comprises a mix of Highland and Speyside whiskies, and is produced and bottled in small batches in Scotland. It boasts a rounded palate that is complete with notes of oak, chocolate, and soft spices, while a luxuriously smooth, long finish balances comforting malt tones with warm salted almonds.
With each bottle of Fior purchased, a donation is given to veterans’ causes.
Shinju Spirits
A trailblazer in the world of Japanese whisky, Shinju Whisky was launched by Janon Costley in 2019 with a vision to revolutionise the sector.
The brand has been earning acclaim for its meticulous attention to detail and unwavering dedication to producing exceptional spirits ever since, and became the 24th brand to join the Pronghorn portfolio last year.
Crafted by blending four distinct whisky expressions with water from the slopes of Japan’s Mount Fuji, the double-distilled White Pearl ‘Original’ expression was created to be mixed into cocktails, and offers notes of honey, orange, and vanilla alongside herbaceous notes with light oak. The portfolio also includes an eight-year-old expression called the Black Pearl.
Dòdò
What started out as an April Fool’s Day prank by Marmalade Collective – a subscription-based media platform that brings the stories of Africa’s culture to life – quickly became the real deal after ‘overwhelming excitement and positive feedback’ from the platform’s followers, and the first trial batch went on to sell out within a week. The brand is now preparing for its official launch in the coming months.
The 40% rum spirit drink is distilled from scratch and infused with the natural richness and caramelised sweetness of golden plantain, with the addition of a hint of spice. It offers undertones of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon spice, pear drops, honey and white chocolate on the nose, while on the palate, a sweet brown sugar leads to a buttered, caramelised plantain before finishing with overripe bananas and allspice.
With its official launch on the horizon, the brand says it is aiming to expand its reach, sharing Dòdò with more of the world by continuing to craft experiences that honour the love and spirit consumers have shown to it so far.
Victor George Spirits
Described as an ‘elite’ vodka brand, Victor George, or VG, as it calls itself, was founded with a mission to make everyone look and feel good.
Created in small batches, VG utilises a patented combination of filtration and oxidation that claims to purify the spirits by removing any harsh tasting notes introduced by fermentation, distillation, or ageing, thus revealing a much smoother, more refined spirit that consumers ‘prefer’.
The brand was founded by CEO Victor G Harvey Senior, an industry veteran with more than 15 years experience in the industry, and one of the first African American vodka owners in the US. He first launched VG in south Florida in 2019, and it is now distributed across 44 states.
Red Hazel whiskey
Siblings Tk Burtin-Johnson and Ty Burtin founded their blended aged whiskey infused with natural cinnamon flavour in 2018, and like Shinju, it caught the attention of Pronghorn in 2024.
Tk developed the idea for Red Hazel after years of working in nightlife. She soon convinced her brother to help in production, and together they developed the brand ‘for generations of whiskey drinkers who enjoy a smooth taste with a slight spice finish’.
The whiskey is distilled in North Carolina, and is bottled at 35% ABV. Their hope, they say, is that Red Hazel will hold a spot on a consumer’s bar and be part of some of drinkers’ best memories.
Fou-Dré vodka
Black female entrepreneur Chanel Turner has dedicated herself to bringing diversity and equity to the alcohol industry. She is the founder of the Black Owned Wine & Spirits Festival (BOWSFest), an annual event dedicated to celebrating and promoting Black-owned businesses in the wine and spirits sectors.
She is also the owner of Fou-Dré Vodka, a premium 40% ABV vodka infused with lychee, lime, pomegranate, ginger, and kiwi, which is five times distilled and made through a unique patented process using TerrePure technology – a natural process that cleans and refines spirits after the standard distillation process is over – in Charleston, South Carolina.
Resembling a lightning bolt, the brand’s bottle shape and concept celebrate the meaning of Fou-Dré: the French word for lightning.
Grown Folks hard seltzer
For lovers of soul food, entrepreneur and mother of two Danica Dias created Grown Folks, a hard seltzer brand born from the heart of Louisiana Creole traditions.
For more than two decades, Dias has prioritised the culture of soul food and the importance of communal gatherings, and all of this has been distilled down into her canned range, which offers three unique hard seltzer flavours: Peach Cobbler, which pays homage to Granny’s famous Peaches N Dumplings; Ambrosia, which is described as a ‘fruit salad that doesn’t play by the rules’; and Key Lime, a perfect blend of tart and tangy with rich, sweet creaminess. All are crafted with real fruit juice and fermented sugar and presented at 6% ABV.
West End Gin
Louisville power couple Dr Dawn and Stacey Wade created West End Gin as a passion project with the added mission of generating sustainability and wealth within their community. To that end, West End Gin donates US$1 from every bottle sold to support communities in Louisville and throughout the US.
The premium 44% ABV citrus-forward gin from Louisville borrows its name from the West Louisville area, known for its rich Black American heritage.
Described as a highly aromatic gin, with a clean, crisp, yet smooth taste profile that plays hopscotch between a London Dry and a more modern contemporary gin, it has been crafted with sweet and bitter orange peel, along with 12 other ingredients: juniper, coriander, cardamom, lemon peel, sweet orange peel, bitter orange peel, grapefruit peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, jasmine, angelica root, orris root, grains of paradise, and cassia.
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