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Uncle Nearest Whiskey’s founder has a word of advice for Beyoncé as she plants herself in the spirits industry. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the “Cowboy Carter” singer released SirDavis in August 2024. The American whisky brand was launched in partnership with Moët Hennessy, and its inaugural product is inspired by Japanese and Scotch whiskies with promises to maintain “the robust and deep flavors typical of classic American rye,” a press release mentioned. The venture is inspired by Beyoncé’s paternal great-grandfather Davis Hogue, who was a farmer and worked as a “moonshiner” in the midst of the Prohibition era. “Our whiskey’s legacy dates back over 200 years to a Black man in Alabama in the 1800s… a man who was a businessman and an entrepreneur, but would have never had the opportunity to create a mainstream whiskey back then. Systemic barriers would not have allowed it,” she mentioned, according to GQ. “But it turns out that my great-grandfather’s hands planted the seed...
An idea tossed around as a light-hearted joke turned into a business. Ernest Drummond, Howard Riley, and Michael Earley developed an idea to venture into the spirits business during COVID-19, the Philly Voice reported. With Pennsylvania’s state-owned liquor stores closing during the pandemic, they wanted to create their own. “Somebody brought up as a joke, ‘We should come up with our own liquor brand so we can sell to our friends and family while we were doing our little barbecues and get together stuff like that,'” Earley told the outlet. “We quickly came to the realization that that was highly illegal, and it’s not as easy as we thought — not moonshine and liquor out the bathtub.” The trio launched Diggs Boys Bourbon in 2020. According to the company website, it drew inspiration from distillers with over a century of experience making whiskey. “We use the best ingredients around to complete a unique blend of malt, corn, rye and wheat, along with limestone filtered water. This...
Uncle Nearest’s presence in the spirits sector continues to rise. The whiskey company, established in 2016 by Fawn Weaver to honor Nathan “Nearest” Green, a formerly enslaved man who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey, has scaled into 30,000 stores, bars, hotels, and restaurant s in 12 countries, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. In its latest report, Bloomberg notes Weaver aspires to own a larger share of the spirits market. This stance has motivated the company to purchase vodka maker Square One Organic Spirits. Additionally, she mentions a settled legal dispute between Diageo Plc and Sean “Diddy” Combs concerning his vodka brand as a contributing factor for her latest acquisition, noting a void in the market and the importance of having a Black-owned vodka occupy space. The market is heavily dominated by major players such as Diageo PLC and LVMH, with valuations totaling nearly $79 billion and $423 billion, respectively, the outlet mentions. Uncle Nearest continues to gain a...
50 Cent’s spirits venture was nearly at the brink of closure, according to Fox 5 in New York, NY. The outlet notes that the rapper and “Power” executive producer has been in a court battle over the loss of millions of dollars in an alleged embezzlement scheme. A 70-page New York State Supreme Court Complaint alleges his company, Sire Spirits, lost revenue due to being overcharged by distiller Beam Suntory, which then split the profits with Mitchell Green, the former director of brand management for Sire Spirits. The complaint claims the loss is estimated to be over $6 million. “Because these illicit commissions were baked into the price of the product, Sire Spirits overpaid on taxes, overpaid on customs and duties, overpaid on insurance, which are marked towards the value of the product,” Sire Spirits Attorney Craig Weiner said, according to Fox 5. Furthermore, Beam Suntory’s chief commercial officer, Julious Grant, is being accused of wearing various hats, including Beam Suntory’s...
