drink up!

Our favorite LGBTQ+ celebs & allies with their own liquor brands

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Three-panel image. On the left, Graham Norton smiles in a purple blazer over a pink and red dress shirt. He has thin gray hair and a full gray beard. In the middle, Kylie Minogue smiles in a pink low cut dress. She's posed outdoors with long, perfectly coiffed blonde hair and golden earrings. On the right, RuPaul smiles in front of a blue step-and-repeat. He wears a black and white shirt up to his neck and thick black rimmed glasses.

From music, to fashion, to interior design, there’s no denying the gays have taste –– and the world of alcohol is no exception.

OK, yes, the need to stretch our dollar (and daily calorie count) means that a majority of gay men pick poisons like the spiked seltzer or vodka soda –– a.k.a. our “gay waters.” But that doesn’t mean we don’t know quality it when we taste it!

But with a booming alcohol industry that hit over $261 billion in 2022, every celebrity and their mother wants a piece of the pie.

Our discernment has never been more important!

So, how can we separate star power and savor-ability in a world dominated by ads for Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin, Kendall Jenner promoting 818 Tequila, and Snoop Dogg’s inescapable bottle of red wine?

It’s easy: stick with recommendations from the gays –– and their faves.

The celeb alcohol industry is largely dominated by the dudes, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a handful of LGBTQ+ personalities and allies making mixology magic.

These mixed drinks, spirits, ambassadors, and special labels are delivering on the quality, marketing, price point, and of course, the taste.

Here are our 10 of our favorite alcohol brands from LGBTQ+ celebs and allies… 🥂

1. Neil Patrick Harris

Who better to curate the perfect premixed espresso martini than a swanky celeb like Neil Patrick Harris? Fittingly, on the heels of the caffeinated cocktail’s skyrocketing popularity –– the straights are catching on! –– NPH partnered with Thomas Ashbourne to create “The After Hours” Espresso Martini.

The ready-to-drink concoction is sold both online and in-stores, and the Uncoupled actor is extremely passionate about its possibilities. “There’s something emotionally connecting about an espresso martini that makes you feel like you’re opening your next adventure,” he told Forbes. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to sip one?”

2. Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue sits in front of a luxurious beach on a patio, separated by a thin glass wall. She sits on a black table with her legs crossed in a long pink dress, holding a glass of Kylie Minogue Wines' rosé and its respective bottle. She smiles widely, with her long blonde hair placed perfectly.

Kylie Minogue‘s wines have become so ubiquitous that Gen-Z pop star Reneé Rapp admitted she was familiar with her rosé, but not her music. The Aussie pop queen has always exhibited good taste, so it’s no surprise that her business –– called Kylie Minogue Wines, respectively –– has resonated with gays, girls, and booze fans alike.

Since its 2020 launch, Minogue has sold more than ten million bottles worldwide and snatched the title of best-selling Prosecco Rosé in the UK. And that marked quality was no hard-won. (This is the woman who blessed us with “Padam Padam” after all!)

“I thought they might go, ‘Oh, here comes another celebrity wine,'” she told W Magazine. “Within the wine community, there may have been some skepticism at first.” Her numerous labels and awards have certainly proved them wrong. “You know it’s not the worst day’s work, learning about wine,” she added. Can you say “Mother?”

3. Mert Alas

Madonna, wearing a studded black leather outfit and cap with her long curly blonde hair down, stands laughing hold a wine glass filled with a red liquid. Laughing alongside her is Mert Alas in black leather pants, a black tight t-shirt, and a golden necklace and watch. He has brown hair and a thin brown beard. They stand in a dim and crowded New York dive bar.

There’s no doubt you’ve thirsted over a photo taken by Mert Alas. The famed gay fashion photographer has worked with the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga, and most recently, Jung Kook and Jeremy Allen White on their Calvin Klein shoots. But he’s also got quite the taste for gin!

The 53-year-old launched the Madge-approved Seventy One Gin with business partner Tasso Ferreira in 2021, hoping to create not only a good-tasting spirit, but a “sexy drink.”

As Alas told The Telegraph, “I put in a touch of caffeine with the Ecuadorian Guayusa tea leaves because I want people to embrace the night and not think about going to bed. The night used to be this fascinating thing that we anticipated all day. Nowadays, the world has become too well behaved.” We’re already sold!

4. RuPaul

If you’ve watched an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race in the past few years, you’ve probably heard of RuPaul‘s canned cocktail and mocktail brand House of Love, dutifully advertised after every runway. That being said, bar culture and drag are inexplicably intertwined, so this collab is basically a match made in gay heaven.

With flavors like pomegranate lime vodka, watermelon vodka, tangerine margarita, and strawberry daiquiri, these bad boys pack a punch with 7 to 12 percent alcohol. Could that be the secret behind all those unhinged backstage moments on Untucked? As RuPaul told People, it’s because “we put a little bit of love in every can.”

5. TJ Osbourne

TJ Osborne (with short spiky dirty blonde hair and a beard) stands in a black textured suit, open to reveal a silky black low cut vest revealing some light chest hair. Next to him stands his brother John Osborne, in a white cowboy hat, red suit, and with a bandana around his neck. John has a thick red beard. The two are posed in front of a black step-and-repeat at the Grammys.

TJ Osborne is a certified gay country cutie –– and one half of Grammy-winning sibling duo Brothers Osborne. Keeping with their roots, the men launched a limited-edition barrel of rye whiskey with WhistlePig in 2022. The 96.56-proof whiskey has noted hints of “sweet, spice, and smoke,” which already has the hair on the back of necks at full attention.

Considering TJ is a rare queer figure in country music, it was important for the duo to partner with a crew who was accepting. Even better, the 39-year-old says their finished product tastes pretty damn good. “It’s absolutely something I’ll pull out of my whiskey collection to sip or mix,” he told Rolling Stone.

6. Sarah Jessica Parker

If you can’t drink with Carrie Bradshaw, you might as well imbibe like Sarah Jessica Parker. In 2019, the Sex and the City star collaborated with Invivo & Co., a New Zealand wine company, to launch her own bottles of rosé and sauvignon blanc.

It’s no cosmopolitan, though she did launch her own collection of those in 2022. But SJP got quite involved in the process, telling a Wine Experience audience: “I developed my own language to understand wine.” We’re no snobs, but she even impressed the highbrow crowd, earning an esteemed spot on Wine Spectator‘s top-100 wines.

7. Rita Ora

From music and movies, to Primark collections, bisexual British songstress Rita Ora seems to have her hands in everything. So, it’s only fitting she’s behind her own tequila brand Próspero Tequila, reportedly “one of only four spirits founded by a female celebrity.”

The “Let You Love Me” singer had no qualms about diving into a male-dominated industry, and she told The Spirits Business it’s a “project [that] really comes from the heart.” Her tequila is sold in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, and of course they’ve got a signature margarita recipe called “The RitaRita.”

8. Rosario Dawson & Ashley Benson

You’ve heard of “Fergalicious,” but what about margalicous? In 2023, queer actresses Rosario Dawson and Ashley Benson partnered with Vanessa Hudgens to answer the call. The trio launched their own bottled and canned cocktail: The Margalicious Margarita, featuring a whopping 20-percent alcohol and “a hint of orange zest.”

Write off celeb brands all you want, but there’s no denying this trio of ladies are authorities on what makes a good marg. Especially Dawson, who told Forbes, “Instead of bringing wine to someone’s party, I’ll bring my margaritas and they go like hotcakes.”

9. Nick Jonas

If there’s one thing gay men can agree on, it’s that Nick Jonas is hot and tequila is good. And as it turns out, the silky voiced Jo Bro is also a huge fan of the spirit, having launched Villa One Tequila in 2019 with fashion designer John Varvatos.

They’ve got a trite and idealistic tagline: “Life as it should be,” but it’s a sentiment Jonas takes seriously. “It’s just about that –– moments where you’re with the people you love, and enjoy a glass of tequila and taking it as a step back from the craziness of life, and just being really present,” he told Entrepreneur.

The idea of slowing down with Nick must not be a hard sell, because the duo just expanded by launching their first restaurant.

10. Graham Norton

We’d trust Graham Norton‘s opinion on just about anything, so it’s no surprise that his line of wine with Invivo & Co., featuring sauvignon blanc, shiraz, prosecco, and rosé, has sold over 15 million bottles.

The Irish comedian and talk-show host never planned on getting this deep into the biz, but he’s proud enough of his mid-priced collection that he drinks it himself! “What’s good about America is I can buy my wine without being embarrassed, because they don’t know who I am,” he told Irish Times last year. “I’m just that man who happens to like those GN wines.” Cheers to that!

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