Skip to main content

Gulf & Main Magazine

Celebrity Wine and Spirits: Adult Beverages Designed with Star Power

Sep 07, 2021 05:00PM ● By GINA BIRCH

Celebrities make tremendous amounts of money on endorsements, convincing us that our skin will appear younger with this cream, we’ll look cool behind the wheel of that car, our athletic performance will improve with a particular shoe. They put their names behind all kinds of brands, including wine and spirits.  

While some stars do little more than offer their names to beverages they enjoy, others take active roles in crafting the blends and designing the labels.  

With more and more famous folks getting into the adult beverage business, here are some to put on your radar. 

 

Nick Jonas and John VarvatosVilla One Tequila 

Singer and television celebrity Nick Jonas (right) and fashion designer John Varvatos (left) were inspired to produce tequila on a trip to Mexico with family and friends. The agave used to make Villa One Tequila comes from both the lowlands and highlands of the Jalisco region of Mexico. Each area brings a different characteristic to create layers of appealing flavors. Three classifications of tequila are bottled: blanco, reposado and anejo. $45-60 

 

Bruno Mars, SelvaRey Rum 

Pop superstar Bruno Mars brings his “24K Magic” moves to this Panamanian rum. He owns the brand along with his three brothers, and it’s crafted by a man considered to be royalty in the rum world, Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez. Packaged in sexy, slender bottles are a white rum, chocolate rum, coconut rum and Owner’s Reserve, a blend that has been aged between 15 and 25 years. Starting at $30 

 

Post Malone, Maison No. 9 Rosé 

A delicate rosé might not be the first beverage that comes to mind when considering the tattoo-covered face of singer, rapper and actor Post Malone. Many of his songs, however, have a rosé-sippin’ vibe. The artist loves the French Riviera and wanted to create a wine that embodies the area’s lifestyle. Light, crisp and fruity, it’s a blend of grenache noir, cinsault, syrah and merlot. The name is said to come in part from Malone’s favorite tarot card, Nine of Swords. $21.99 

 

Bob Dylan, Heaven’s Door Whiskey 

Legendary rocker Bob Dylan co-creates this line of whiskey with master blender Ryan Perry in Tennessee. Named after his iconic 1973 song “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” the regular collection includes award-winning straight bourbon, double-barrel bourbon and straight rye. Dylan’s artistic talents go beyond the recording studio. His Bootleg Series is a limited-release bourbon that comes in collectible bottles featuring his artwork. Starting at $45 

 

Ryan Reynolds, Aviation Gin 

Not long after actor Ryan Reynolds had his first sip of a small brand of gin called Aviation, he met the owners and bought into the business. The brand has grown substantially. Aviation is distilled with seven different botanicals, and while juniper is one of them, it’s not a predominant flavor. Reynolds has become the face of the brand and is having fun with it. The website is full of humorous and irreverent videos promoting the gin. $49 

 

Dan AykroydCrystal Head Vodka 

From comedian Dan Aykroyd, this vodka turns heads, literally and figuratively. The crystal bottle is shaped like a skull. Packaging alone is not all that makes this vodka unique. It’s filtered through Herkimer diamond crystals, which not only help in purification, but are also said to have healing properties. The clear bottle is classic; however, Crystal Head also features numerous artfully made, special-edition bottles. $50 

 

Kate Hudson, King St. Vodka 

Actress Kate Hudson loves a good martini. Inspecting the contents of her home bar, she questioned if any of the spirits were made by women. Realizing that there were very few women producers and owners in the spirits industry, she decided to become one. The vodka is crafted from GMO-free corn and distilled seven times for a smooth, clean finish. Its name comes from the street where Hudson once lived in New York City, where she frequently hosted cocktail parties. $25 

 

Michael Jordan, Cincoro Tequila 

It started out innocently enough. Basketball legend and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan was talking tequila with four other NBA owners over dinner. Discussing the characteristics they liked in the spirit, they decided to team up and make one that embodied all of them. Not your everyday sipper, blanco starts around $80 at the low end, and at the top, extra anejo is in the $1,600 range—when you can find it.  

 

Yao MingYao Family Wines 

Houston Rockets NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming makes critically acclaimed wines from some of the best vineyards in Napa Valley. He participates in the blending trials with winemaker Tom Hinde. As you might expect from Ming’s stature, his wines are big, but they also have finesse. Cabernet begins at $95 and goes up to $588 for the Chop. A chop is a Chinese family seal, and Ming’s is embossed on these collectible bottles. Only 282 were made, and each is numbered. The 2016 vintage was just recently released.