I finally tried SirDavis, Beyoncé’s whiskey. It was at the behest of my boyfriend, who, for some reason, had been dying to try it even though he’s not what I’d call a Beyoncé fan. As a budding connoisseur of whiskey myself, I had also been Bey-curious about her drink.
It’s been impossible to find where we live, but on a recent trip to New York City, we found it at our hotel bar, The Tusk, at the Evelyn Hotel.
It was $26 for a pour and $30 in a cocktail. Oh NYC. Coming from New Orleans, where a Jameson on the rocks runs me $5 at my local watering hole, I had to laugh at the pricing. At a store, the bottle retails for $100, so it’s priced as a high-end spirit.
If I had to describe it in one word: approachable. A sweet, spicy, light whiskey for folks looking to try something nicer than what’s at the top shelf at a Gay bar. But the Beyoncé name is doing some heavy lifting for this price point. $60 can get you a more complex, deeper whiskey at a decent liquor store. In fact, SirDavis tastes like a little sibling to Ardbeg 10-Year whiskey, and whaddyaknow? The creator of Ardbeg helped develop SirDavis.
Still, it’s a fun vacation splurge, and made a tasty Manhattan, a lavish mixer and conversation piece. We would’ve tried it in another cocktail, but the server said it was their last pour of the in-demand booze.
The release of Cowboy Carter and SirDavis is impeccable timing and peak Beyoncé branding. There’s no denying the reach and seduction of her name.
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