Beyoncé has entered the whiskey chat. And like everything she does, the announcement of SirDavis, a new American Whiskey, came with both shock and awe. The multi-hyphenate star has teamed with Moët Hennessy to create the first-of-its-kind joint venture reflects a shared vision between she and the brand around the future of the American Whiskey category.
This product has been years in the making after Beyoncé, a Japanese whisky enthusiast, sought out Moët Hennessy to help craft a flavor profile that reflected her whiskey ideal. At the same time, Moët Hennessy had been exploring ways to deepen its presence in the American whiskey market.
“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,” says SirDavis Founder Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. “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. You can taste it better than I could ever tell you — welcome, SirDavis.”
SirDavis is named in honor of Davis Hogue, Beyoncé’s paternal great-grandfather, who was a farmer and a moonshiner in the South during Prohibition. He stashed whiskey bottles in the empty knots of cedar trees for friends and kin to find and enjoy. For Beyoncé, it was this discovery that made the idea of creating a whiskey brand feel predestined.
Moët Hennessy tapped Dr. Bill Lumsden, one of the world’s most awarded and highly regarded Master Distillers for his work on Scotch whisky brands Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, to lead on whisky creation. He selected the brand’s bespoke mash bill—composed of 51% rye and 49% malted barley—to serve as the backbone of the liquid. Lumsden then combined traditional whiskey-making techniques to impart a mouthfeel and texture reminiscent of Japanese and Scotch whiskies, while retaining the flavors typical of classic American rye.
“With SirDavis, we looked to challenge the category norms and offer something new in the space,” said Dr. Bill Lumsden. “The distinctive grain selection and unusual secondary maturation in sherry casks helped us achieve a signature profile completely unique to SirDavis, one of bold sophistication.”
Moët Hennessy and Beyoncé’s shared commitment to excellence was key to the partnership and the product. To validate SirDavis’s quality, the liquid was anonymously submitted to numerous prestigious spirits competitions prior to launch. SirDavis won Best In Class for American Whiskey from the 2023 SIP Awards, outperforming over 100 other entries in the category. Awarded to only one brand per category, this award is reserved for premium spirits receiving scores in the pinnacle of their respective categories and is SIP’s highest acclaim from consumer judges. Other notable scores include a Gold Medal (95 points) from the 2023 New York International Spirits Competition and a 93-point rating from the 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge.
Beyoncé also lent her artistic direction to the brand’s bottle design (seen above) – a tall bottle with ribbed glass whose intentional design elements speak to luxury. It also features a black medallion with a regal bronzed horse, emblematic of strength and respect and symbolizing the star’s Texas roots.
In another nod to her heritage, the whiskey is finished, blended and bottled in her home state of Texas. Unlike other acquired brands, SirDavis also makes history as Moët Hennessy’s first spirits brand developed entirely internally by Moët Hennessy in the United States. SirDavis is headquartered out of Houston, Texas.
On sale next month, SirDavis retails for $89 and is available for pre-order now.
