Beyoncé Becomes Sole Owner of SirDavis American Whisky After Acquiring Shares From Moët Hennessy

(Photos: SirDavis)

French luxury giant Moët Hennessy has reportedly sold its share in SirDavis American Whisky to Beyoncé Carter-Knowles, with whom it founded the spirits brand in 2024. Both parties have remained tight-lipped about the sale, and there are no details yet on the financial details of the purchase.

In a statement reported by Drinks Intel, a spokesperson for the brand said: “SirDavis starts its new independent chapter, after a nearly four-year transformative collaboration through creation, development and launch.

“Knowles-Carter … takes full ownership and control, making SirDavis a woman-, family- and Black-owned company. She builds on the tradition of creating and running her companies, built from the ground up.”

The brand has been described as a tribute to Beyoncé’s paternal great-grandfather, Davis Hogue, a moonshiner who stashed bottles of whiskey in the empty knots of cedar trees during Prohibition.

Nearly a century later, the pop star went in a slightly different direction. The whisky is distilled in Indiana from a mashbill of 51% rye and 49% malted barley, before being blended, finished and bottled in Beyoncé’s home state of Texas. Unsurprisingly, SirDavis benefited from a star-studded, nationwide rollout when it hit shelves two summers ago at a suggested retail price of $89.

From all outside appearances, SirDavis seems to have been a success. The brand released a cocktail kit that sold out within hours of launch, unveiled a holiday-themed pop-up in the heart of New York City and featured prominently in Beyoncé’s recent Cowboy Carter concert tour. We had nothing but good things to say when we reviewed the whisky at launch, and we’d maintain that it’s still one of the better celebrity-backed spirits on the market.

So why the sudden shakeup?

It’s hard to say for now. It is worth noting, however, that Moët Hennessy — the juggernaut behind Hennessy cognac, Dom Perignon and Krug Champagne — is currently scaling back its operations. Last summer, the conglomerate slashed nearly 13% of its global workforce in response to declining sales. Leadership reportedly plans to refocus on its biggest, best-known brands, and the sale of SirDavis may have been a result of that revival plan.