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The best celebrity alcohol brands to try
What’s the hottest accessory every A-Lister has? Their own booze
The days of celebrities just having one job – actor, model, singer – are long gone. Even the super-rich with dizzying heights of fame have decided to broaden their oeuvre of cultural output, becoming multi-hyphenates with irons in several fires. While the rich and famous of yesteryear previously had their own perfumes (Britney Spears’ scent empire, at its peak, was thought to make her £36 million a year), an increasing amount of celebrities now own their own alcohol brands – a lucrative endeavour which, if they prove to be popular, brings in the big bucks.
But the process behind crafting these wines and spirits goes well beyond celebrities having their face slapped on the side of the bottle. Many famous faces are deeply involved in creating and crafting a beverage that deserves its shelf space and can just as easily measure up to bigger, more renowned names on the market.
It's not just A-Listers who are expanding their repertoire into the arena of alcohol, even the royals are dipping their toes into creating tipples to be enjoyed for any occasion; be it at intimate, late night soirées, at cocktails with friends, or even just as a nightcap.
We’ve spooled through the growing list of celebrities that have launched their own alcohol brands and rounded up the very best booze on the market – perfect for gifting or, if you’re feeling more indulgent, keeping all to yourself for a special occasion.
One of the latest big names to join the booze brand fray is Beyoncé, who has just released SirDavis Whisky, to pay homage to her southern roots (each is finished, blended and bottled in her home state of Texas) and her whisky-making paternal great-grandfather, Davis Hogue.
This unique take on the beverage (SirDavis is made of 51% rye and 49% barley) is then aged in sherry casks, which adds body and fruity flavour to the otherwise rich, spicy and biscuity whisky.
It may still be new, but SirDavis has already been highly commended by industry professionals – including placing the Best in Class Platinum Award at the 2023 Spirits International Prestige Awards for American whisky.
An endeavour between George Clooney and close friend Rande Gerber (who is Cindy Crawford’s husband), the pair originally had no intention to make their carefully honed tequila available to the public, with the venture initially only for their own personal tastes. However, since Casamigos (a rough Spanish portmanteau of ‘house of friends’) was put on the shelves in 2014, it’s become one of the fastest growing tequila brands in the world (with Clooney and Gerber personally taste-testing and quality-controlling for every single batch of tequila in its early days).
Its original blanco tequila range is unlike others on the market, boasting a lemon citrus scent with a touch of melon and a smooth, vanilla taste, all seasoned with a sprinkle of black pepper. It’s surprisingly delicious for a tequila, and its reputation precedes it: Casamigos’ growing popularity saw it sold in 2017 to the British spirits giant Diageo for a jaw-dropping $700 million.
Rugby star and member of the royal family Mike Tindall paired up with fellow sportsmen James Haskell and Alex Paybe in 2023 to create Blackeye Gin, which they hail as the "unofficial spirit of rugby".
A real celebration of the sport, Blackeye Gin boasts a host of botanicals sourced from different rugby-playing nations across the globe, which pairs with its bold citrus profile and burst of juniper.
The spirit, made at the award-winning Hawkridge gin distillery, does more than help make a delicious G&T. For every bottle sold, £1.50 will go towards the brand's very own Blackeye Rugby Fund, supporting research into player safety, risk management within the game, and recovery for injured players.
While she doesn’t actually drink alcohol herself, It Ends With Us star Blake Lively decided to expand her Betty Buzz non-alcoholic soda range in 2023 to include Betty Booze canned spirits. Coming in three flavours – sparkling tequila and lemonade, sparkling tequila and lime, and bourbon – Betty Booze’s USP is prioritising fresh, high-quality ingredients with no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners. It’s proven to be an award-winning recipe; the drinks were named Best Sparkling Beverage at the 2023 World Beverage Innovation Awards.
It must be a party over at Blake Lively’s home, as her husband Ryan Reynolds also owns his own alcohol brand; the Hollywood star loved the unique Aviation Gin brand so much he bought a stake in the company in 2018 (and regularly appears in their advertising campaigns). Coming from cold, wet and windy Portland, you can almost taste the dense evergreens, with a focus on fresh herbs, citrus and aniseed. You can also expect a slight buttery note, blended with spicy cinnamon and cloves. It’s certainly worth a taste – the brand was sold to drinks heavyweight Diageo for $610 million.
The Kardashian-Jenners are known for the entrepreneurial endeavours, and Kendall Jenner has branched out beyond the catwalk with 818 Tequila. So-named after the model's Hollywood area code, the 28-year-old has since added that the beverage was dreamt up to celebrate whatever home looks like for her customers. Jenner works closely with family-owned farms in Jalsisco, Mexico, for an authentic tequila, and 818 prides itself in being one of the more environmentally friendly offerings out there. Its distillery runs entirely on biomass and solar power to reduce its carbon footprint, while all the packaging is sourced from sustainably managed forests. The traditional Blanco tequila is sweet with vanilla undertones, while the Anejo tequila boasts a rich palate of caramel and orange peel. Don’t just take our word on how delicious it is – 818 tequila has won 43 blind tasting awards at 13 international spirit competitions.
The Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett is full of surprises – one of which being that she became a huge fan of saké during her tenure as the global ambassador for the esteemed Japanese skincare brand SK-II. Her love for the fermented rice drink has now seen her land the role of creative director at Toku. The brand’s debut release, the Toku Junmai Daiginjo, has been praised for its creamy yet light flavours of apples and honeydew melon, with a champagne-style finish.
They may have given us one of the most critically acclaimed television series of all time in the form of Breaking Bad, but Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston didn’t end their partnership when the cameras stopped rolling. In 2019, the pair cooked together once more when they created Des Hombres, working with maestro mezcalero, Gregorio Velasco, to create a mezcal that has proven widely popular with both critics and consumers.
Its 12 times award-winning classic mezcal has fruity undertones of apple and mango, made all the more smoother by its woody aftertaste.
While Kylie Minogue may have only launched her wine label in 2020, its already become one of the best-selling brands in the UK. Don’t be fooled by the accessible price point and see that as a suggestion of poor quality – her Côtes de Provence Rosé is also proudly served at some of the world’s most renowned venues, including Annabel’s in London.
Minogue’s Signature Rosé is a light, crisp drink with the tang of summer fruits – but can be enjoyed long into the later months. The brand has won multiple awards, including a Golden Vine Award, three golds in the prestigious Drinks Business Wine Awards, and Best Côtes de Provence Rose.
As well as owning her own hugely successful production company and starring in some of Hollywood’s biggest hits, Margot Robbie has also found the time to craft up a gin with her husband, Tom Ackerley, and their friends Josey McNamara, Regan Riskas and Charlie Maas.
Selling out in just two days when it was launched in Robbie’s native country Australia last year, Papa Salt is now available in the UK and is likely to have similar success. Featuring Australian botanicals like wattleseed, wax flower, and oyster shell, it’s the perfect gin for “a classic dry martini”, according to the company’s founders. There’s a lot in this aromatic, mineral-heavy gin, but it’s still surprisingly drinkable – even if you do keep things simple and mix it with a tonic.
