There are celebrity spirits, and then there are celebrity spirits, and then there’s Beyoncé‘s celebrity spirit. Anyone who follows the American liquor industry knows that these releases have flooded store shelves in recent years, to the point that few of them even attract much industry attention at this point. But an American whiskey/whisky from Beyoncé Knowles-Carter? That’s going to get some eyes on it. SirDavis American Whisky, a teamup of Bey with Moët Hennessy, is immediately set up to become one of the biggest celebrity spirits launches ever, as the queen of pop, R&B and now country music brings her full influence to bear. Given that, a cynical spirits industry observer would be forgiven for assuming that the contents of the bottle would be pretty pedestrian in terms of its ambition or complexity. Intriguingly, SirDavis handily exceeds expectations on both counts–this is a far more interesting spirit than it really needed to be, considering that it’s coming from the artist with the most Grammy Awards of all time.
To start with, the brand is named after Davis Hogue, Beyoncé’s paternal great-grandfather, a farmer and Prohibition-era moonshiner who operated in Alabama in the early 1900s. That’s a handy bit of family history that the singer unsurprisingly sought to leverage, though the product that she and Moët Hennessy have now created can safely be said to bear just about 0% similarity to anything that Davis Hogue would have ever distilled or even encountered in life. So too are the marketing materials filled with fluff that doesn’t bear a lot of significance for this actual product–the press release notes that Knowles-Carter is a “Japanese whisky enthusiast,” but nothing here is particularly related to Japanese whisky. At times, the marketing seems a bit at odds with itself in terms of how it wants the drinker to perceive the product.
So let’s cut through the treacle: What is SirDavis American Whisky? Well, it’s certainly American for starters, with the acknowledgement that it’s sourced from Indiana giving us almost total confirmation that this is a product of MGP. And it’s technically a rye whiskey, although this notably isn’t made from the most common 95% rye, 5% malted barley MGP rye recipe that has been found in ever-so-many sourced products over the years. Rather, this is a much more uncommon MGP rye mash bill that is 51% rye, 49% malted barley, without any corn in it. That makes this effectively a rye whiskey/malt whisky hybrid, a product that at first looks like a Kentucky-style rye until you see just how much barley is in there. That would already be pretty unusual on its own, but that whisky (non age stated) is then shipped to Beyoncé’s home state of Texas, where it receives a secondary maturation in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. This is a particularly sweet, concentrated, fruit-forward sherry style that should significantly transform that rye-malt hybrid whisky in SirDavis, which is then bottled at 44% ABV (88 proof). It carries a premium MSRP of $89, which is high for a non-age-stated spirit, but increasingly common for the luxe end of the whiskey market regardless.
Personally, I was immediately fascinated, seeing that description for SirDavis. Beyoncé could have easily bought and marketed some moderately aged sourced American whiskey, or tequila, or brandy, and called it a day. It’s what most celebrities do when they launch one of these brands. But this product implies a much greater degree of development that went into it, and I think she probably deserves some credit for that–assuming that Knowles-Carter was even involved, because who knows?
Regardless, let’s get to tasting this brand new spirit, which started hitting shelves this week in time for Beyoncé’s 43rd birthday.
On the nose, SirDavis displays a combination of sweet and fruit-forward character up front, with strong impressions of toffee and orange slices, along with darker (but bright) notes of dried cherry and cranberry. The malt side of the mash bill expresses itself with crisp grain and sweeter malt syrup, alongside dark chocolate. Hints of herbal rye and caraway speak to the star grain of the mash bill, with almost a little suggestion of aquavit. The sherry contributes those dried fruit impressions, along with an oxidized sherry nuttiness. It all makes for an interesting, unusual interplay between older and younger impressions. The malt whisky’s grain-forward notes imply youth, but the spice of rye, and the darker fruit contributions of the PX sherry pull it toward maturity.
On the palate, this is quite herbal and spicy up front, but it also doesn’t lose the thread of sweetness from the nose. I’m getting lots of caraway and rye spice again, along with more grassy fresh rye grain, but also chewy toffee and juicy orange. There’s a slightly funky oak presence, with jammy dark fruit, grape skins, toasted wood and a little barrel char. Spice notes of cinnamon and nutmeg increasingly segue to dried fruit and nutty, sherry rancio at the close of each sip. You can feel each of the elements there individually, which is nice.
All in all, I honestly feel like SirDavis Amerian Whisky is being marketed pretty accurately by the company in terms of its flavor profile–it’s a pretty unique and tasty combination of fruit, sweetness, malt, spice and sherry influences. If anything, they might even be underselling how unique it really is, at least a little. And there’s also a good level of complexity here, for a relatively low proof spirit. At the end of the day, I’m impressed that the team involved here took the time to make a thoughtful spirit, rather than just a blatant cash grab. This is a bottle I could actually see leading some of Beyoncé’s fans into a new appreciation for spirits in general, and that would be a great outcome for the industry.
Distillery: SirDavis
City: Houston, TX
Style: Straight rye whiskey/whisky
ABV: 44% (88 proof)
Availability: 750 ml bottles, $89 MSRP
Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident brown liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.