Why Beyoncé Got Mixed Up in the Whisky Business

When Beyoncé sings about “rugged whiskey” and the “dive bar we always thought was nice” on her country album Cowboy Carter, she was definitely not talking about her whisky.

Launched this September in partnership with luxury giant LVMH’s Moët Hennessy, Queen Bey’s premium rye whisky SirDavis retails for $89 bottle and was inspired by her paternal great-grandfather’s legacy as a successful Prohibition-era moonshine maker.

It’s the latest product from Beyoncé, who, in addition to performing 56 shows for her $580-million-grossing 2023 Renaissance World Tour, also released a perfume called CÉ NOIR and a haircare line called Cécred over the past year.

Fans are feverishly speculating on what genre she might reclaim next for a potential Act III album. So, why would she spend her precious time and invaluable brand power to release a whisky? And how much money might she make from it?

Billboard interviewed half a dozen alcohol industry experts and leading entertainment lawyers, and while they unanimously agreed that it is too early to guess at SirDavis’ sales — it only launched in August — they said the whiskey fits into a modern-day marketing strategy as multi-faceted as Queen Bey’s career.

“It’s an extension of the marketing push for her latest album, which has references to traditional Americana and American heritage,” says Spiros Malandrakis, head of alcoholic drinks research for Euromonitor, referencing Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, which came out in April. “What is one of the most iconic products that encapsulates American heritage? It’s an American whisky that has roots dating back to moonshine.”

Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart dated April 13 with 407,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 4. It has since racked up a total of 1,322,896 equivalent album units, according to Luminate, and marks her her eighth No. 1 album. Whisky comes up in the lyrics of several Cowboy Carter songs, as do Levi’s jeans — spelled “Levii’s Jeans” on the track that features Post Malone — and Queen Bey is currently featured in an ad campaign for the classic denim company.

But given the international nature of her brand, Malandrakis says, Bey’s whisky works to extend its appeal beyond a strictly Americana audience. SirDavis whisky dropped the e, as the Scottish do, and it incorporates grains often used in Scotch and Japanese whiskey.

“She kind of winks towards this international side of her brand,” Malandrakis says. “She is a black American icon. She is also equally, potentially even more so, an international icon.”

WORTH A SHOT

Celebrity liquor deals have the potential to make superstars into billionaires, like the sale of Casamigos Tequila did for George Clooney, and before that what Cîroc vodka and DeLeón tequila did for Sean “Diddy” Combs. Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z did his first liquor deal in 2012 — D’ussé Cognac with Bacardi — and in 2021 he sold half of his champagne Ace of Spades to LVMH. As of May, Forbes estimated Beyoncé’s net worth to be $760 million.

Jordan Bromley, head of Manatt’s entertainment practice, says that these kinds of deals can be highly lucrative, whether the talent receives an upfront check or sticks around for five to 10 years to build the brand and then negotiates a big payout when they exit.

“This should be a tentpole of any icon’s business portfolio, and not just in liquor but home goods, athletic goods or venues,” says Bromley, citing Rihanna’s Fenty as one of the most successful examples of an artist becoming a billionaire thanks to a business outside of a music career. “You’re not stressing out over a record label audit—which you should do every two or three years—because you’re a 20% owner in a billion dollar company.” 

However, Bromley says, there is risk for icons in lending their star power to a product.

“Is there risk? Absolutely—only the entire trust you’ve created for your brand,” Bromley says.

The product has to be good and it has to sell, and the ingredients necessary for those two components are not the same with all products. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that Beyoncé and Adidas AG ended their partnership, the “adidas x IVY PARK” collection, after disappointing sales.

With spirits, sources say success usually seems to follow when fans believe a superstar authentically enjoys drinking the spirit in their spare time.

The SirDavis story posits that Beyoncé has whisky-making in her blood, and followers of her social media accounts know she has frequently posted about tasting and collecting rare Japanese whiskeys.

It is not known if Beyoncé has an ownership stake in SirDavis, and LVMH, which owns Moët Hennessy, rarely breaks out sales for its individual products. But Malandrakis says most celebrities exit their liquor company partnerships within a few years with a sizeable check.

“Not because they lose interest but they realize these things have a timeline. At some point Beyonce will not be as relevant, as strange as that sounds,” Malandrakis says. “The longevity of products like that is ultimately down to how good they are and how much they create for the community.”

Money Makers is a new column in which Billboard unpacks one financial issue a week for an artist in the news. Thanks for reading, and if you have suggestions or tips, email me at [email protected].