In recent years, a growing number of celebrities have invested in or launched their own alcoholic beverage brands. George Clooney was among the first to prove the model could work at scale, but numerous other famous actors, musicians and influencers have joined the seemingly endless list of stars building celebrity alcohol brands.
For these stars, the gambit has undoubtedly paid off. As they say, the rich get richer. But as a business owner, you can get buzzed just like your favorite stars — no drop of alcohol needed. It’s just a matter of finding the right celebrity investor.
Famous celebrity alcohol brands
One prominent example of a celebrity alcohol brand investment is Ryan Reynolds’ stake in Aviation Gin. Like any private equity investor, Reynolds invested in the company, supported its growth and eventually cashed out. The key difference, said Haas, is that Reynolds’ involvement was “simply earth-shattering.”
“Ryan Reynolds has millions of fans and followers and excellent material to work with — who can forget his commercials?” Haas said. “Three years of investment, and Reynolds cashed out with $610 million.”
Here are a few other notable celebrities with alcohol brands who have made their mark in the industry.
George Clooney’s Casamigos Tequila
George Clooney co-founded Casamigos Tequila in 2013 with longtime friends Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman. Originally created for personal use among friends, the brand quickly grew thanks to its smooth profile and Clooney’s star power. It became one of the most talked-about celebrity spirits — and one of the most lucrative. In 2017, Casamigos was sold to Diageo in a deal worth up to $1 billion, including performance-based milestones. Clooney’s success helped pave the way for countless other celebrity-driven alcohol brands.
Blake Lively’s Betty Booze
Best known for her acting career and impeccable style, Blake Lively entered the alcohol space with Betty Booze in 2023 — a line of sparkling canned cocktails made with real juice and clean ingredients. The brand followed her earlier nonalcoholic mixer launch, Betty Buzz, and keeps the same playful, retro-inspired branding. While Lively and Ryan Reynolds tend to keep their businesses separate, her venture into alcohol pairs neatly with his wildly successful run with Aviation Gin. Consider it a power couple pouring success into every glass.
Jay-Z’s D’ussé Cognac
Jay-Z — and his famous spouse, Beyoncé — have been investing in liquor brands for years as part of their massive empire. Jay-Z’s involvement with D’ussé even included a Grande Champagne cognac from 1969 with his signature and a gold leaf seal on the bottle, which Sotheby’s valued between $24,000 and $75,000. In 2021, it sold for $52,500 at auction, with proceeds benefiting the Shawn Carter Foundation.
He’s also closely tied to Armand de Brignac champagne (aka “Ace of Spades”), which he acquired in 2014 and later sold a 50 percent stake in to LVMH in February 2021.
More recently, Bacardi acquired a majority stake in the D’Ussé joint venture in 2023 after settling a legal dispute, with Jay-Z reportedly receiving around $750 million while retaining a significant ownership share. Not long after, his VC firm, Marcy Venture Partners, invested in The Finnish Long Drink, which has seen strong interest from Gen Z and millennial consumers.
Not to be outdone, Beyoncé teamed up with Moët Hennessy in 2024 to launch SirDavis, a premium American whiskey crafted with a blend of 51 percent rye and 49 percent malted barley, inspired by her great-grandfather Davis Hogue's Prohibition-era moonshining. It's already snagged some serious awards and is turning heads in the spirits world.
Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl
Frankel’s iconic bottles, with their “Skinnygirl” silhouette, can be found on shelves virtually anywhere alcohol is sold. Known for its flagship Skinnygirl margarita, the brand offers lower-calorie versions of wine, cocktails and other popular drinks, along with nonalcoholic products like salad dressing.
Frankel founded Skinnygirl in 2009 and was one of the first prominent female celebrities to launch her own line. She sold the alcohol side of the business in 2011 to Beam Global but retained the Skinnygirl name and continues to lead the broader lifestyle brand.
More recently, she has leaned further into the nonalcoholic space, partnering with the women-led Mingle Mocktails brand in 2023 while remaining the face of Skinnygirl’s food, apparel and home products.
Matthew McConaughey’s Wild Turkey Longbranch Bourbon
Matthew McConaughey was the face of Wild Turkey Longbranch and a creative collaborator, helping shape the bourbon’s distinctive “Texas meets Kentucky” style through mesquite filtration.
At the end of 2022, Longbranch and McConaughey amicably parted ways. The brand noted that although his signature would no longer appear on the bottle, he would always be part of the Wild Turkey family.
More recently, McConaughey pivoted within the spirits space, launching Pantalones Organic Tequila with his wife, Camila, in October 2023, complete with their cheeky “pantless” ad campaign. Since then, it has already attracted attention for its playful marketing and organic credentials, and has quickly expanded distribution and sales — showing this isn’t just a celebrity launch, but a brand gaining real traction.
Danny DeVito’s Premium Limoncello
DeVito’s foray into celebrity alcohol stands out from the pack. That’s partly because there are very few American limoncello brands, even though the drink is widely popular in Italy.
In 2007, DeVito spotted a gap in the market and filled it with organic lemons from Southern Italy and his own star power. After a successful run, his partnership with Seven Cellos LLC ended in 2010, and the brand is no longer in production.
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David Beckham and Haig Club
Beckham helped create Haig Club, a modern single-grain Scotch whisky, in 2014 and maintained a strong partnership with the brand for nearly a decade. The Haig Club site once noted that the soccer star logged thousands of air miles attending launches and promotional events around the world.
In 2023, Beckham ended his partnership with Haig Club, reportedly to pursue broader ambitions in the beverage industry. While he remains active in consumer partnerships — including recent work with Stella Artois and PerfectDraft — a spirits label bearing his name has yet to materialize.
Drake’s Virginia Black American Whiskey
Virginia Black’s website is sleek, moody and polished — even featuring musical accompaniment from a Canadian R&B duo. Unlike many celebrities with alcohol brands, Drake doesn’t appear prominently on the site, aside from a detailed bio on the About page outlining his role as co-founder alongside spirits entrepreneur Brent Hocking.
Launched in 2016, Virginia Black blends two-, three- and four-year-old bourbons to create a rich, high-rye profile with sweet notes of vanilla and cinnamon. It made a splash from day one, setting sales records in Ontario and selling 30,000 cases globally in its first year.
Post Malone’s Maison No. 9
Bottles of Maison No. 9 rosé feature stylized images of a sword, a nod to one of Post Malone’s signature face tattoos. The sword also appears in a dreamlike video at the top of the brand’s website, where the artist is dressed in Regency-inspired attire in a summery garden — a visual that matches the wine’s light, easy profile.
Launched in June 2020, Maison No. 9 is crafted in Provence as a Méditerranée IGP blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Merlot. It hit shelves with a splash, selling 50,000 bottles during its pre-sale and selling out within two days — and it continues to perform well in the competitive rosé market.
Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila
Like the rest of her family’s empire, Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila leans heavily into family and luxury. Ingredients are sourced from family-owned farms to produce an award-winning spirit. Interestingly, Jenner shifts her image from sleek and polished to jeans and a baseball cap on the brand’s site, as if she’s out harvesting agave herself.
Launched in early 2021, 818 quickly made waves, selling out its pre-order in under two days and moving more than 130,000 cases in its first year. It continues to perform well, driven by savvy marketing, celebrity appeal and a focus on quality.
