Pride Month is Here! Celebrate in Style With These 7 Liquor Brands That Support The LGBTQ+ Community

Each June, we celebrate Pride Month to commemorate the diversity, beauty and struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community. The holiday’s origins are inextricably linked to the booze world, so it’s important to support brands who show love to the LGBTQ+ community.

The History Behind Pride Month

The Stonewall Riots planted the seeds for what would later be Pride Month and served as a cultural flashpoint for the Gay Rights Movement.

On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar located in Lower Manhattan in New York. Enraged onlookers watched as young members of the LGBTQ+ community were arrested and shoved in the back of police cars for merely gathering and enjoying drinks at a bar.

When enjoyed responsibly, liquor brings people together — not apart. In an increasingly divided world, these spirits brands are showing up for the LGBTQ+ community in support of Pride Month, which we feel is a beautiful thing.

7 Liquor Brands Supporting Pride Month

Whether with special-edition bottles, events or campaigns — these seven brands are doing their part in offering support to the LGBTQ+ Community and celebrating Pride Month in style.

Crystal Head Vodka

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Dan Aykroyd’s Canadian Vodka company launched a limited-edition Paint Your Pride Bottle on June 9, per Beverage Industry. The limited release is meant to “empower LGBTQ+ creators with a means of positive visibility and proud, authentic self-representation,” per the brand. The bottle contains Crystal Head’s quadruple-distilled vodka made from Canadian corn. The spirit is blended with Newfoundland water prior to being filtered three times through Herkimer Diamonds.

Johnnie Walker

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The blended scotch brand with the catchy “Keep Walking” slogan is all about moving forward in the name of progress. This year, Johnnie Walker will be walking its way over to Pride Edinburgh 2023, Scotland’s LGBTQ+ festival. Johnnie Walker is the headline sponsor of Pride Edinburgh and will offer festival attendees a 20% discount off of the Journey of Flavour tour at the Johnnie Walker Princes Street location.

Johnnie Walker is owned by Diageo, a company that has been a longtime champion of diversity and inclusion within the workplace and an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Diageo will kick off Pride Month with a series of Rainbow Network events and pride parades around the world.

Jack Daniel’s

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The Tennessee whiskey giant has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ Community. In 2021, Jack Daniel’s launched a Summer ad campaign in partnership with drag queens from “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” and produced a series of videos called “Drag Queen Summer Glamp” that debuted during Pride Month. Participants selected from seasons of Ru Paul’s Drag Race were chosen to perform a variety of challenges around the distillery.

Jack Daniel’s faced renewed scrutiny this year and a call from triggered members of the anti-“woke” brigade to boycott the brand, despite the fact the promotion took place two years earlier. Though Jack Daniel’s faced backlash, the brand continues to be a proud supporter of Pride through its Cinnamon whiskey — Tennessee Fire.

Hornitos

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The tequila brand Hornitos is a proud supporter of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation — better known as GLAAD — and has donated $180,000 to the organization. The brand is no stranger to working with LGBTQ+ influencers via social media partnerships. Hornitos describes itself as “committed to doing the work and supporting the advancement of the queer community with impactful year-round programming.”

Hornitos supports LGBTQ+ grantees including the Brave Space Alliance, Impuls NYC and Level Ground Collective in an effort to champion the LGBTQ+ Community. Their tequilas are made from 100% Blue Agave, the brand offers a variety of Plata, Añejo and Cristalino expressions.

Michter’s

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The cult-favorite Kentucky-based whiskey brand Michter’s voiced its support Pride Month on social media with a post offering support to its LGBTQ+ fans. The post received more than its fair share of backlash, including calls to boycott the brand despite its inoffensive nature.

Michter’s barrels its ryes and bourbons at 103 proof, which is lower than the standard 125 proof. The distillery’s reason for doing that all comes down to science. The sugars and distillate dissolve more readily while cycling in and out of the barrel, yielding a richer mouthfeel. Michter’s claims. Michter’s whiskeys continue to be a favorite amongst many, particularly its limited-release expressions like the 10 Year Rye.

Bacardi Rum

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Bacardi’s support for Pride has gone global this year, and the rum producer is a proud supporter of Sydney World Pride. Bacardi will be offering cocktails after a “Pride Climb” on the Sydney Harbor bridge with drag queens from a personalized cocktail menu. Portions of the proceeds will be donated to the Pride Foundation in Australia, according to Australia’s Drinks Trade.

Bacardi is also taking its support stateside by sponsoring events such as the Lariat Bar’s Defy: For Pride Wrestling event in Washington, according to Outsports.

Mor Irish Gin

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For celebrating Pride with a little bit of panache, be sure to check out Mor Pride Gin. This special-edition gin has a rainbow bottle to pay homage to the Pride Flag. The gin features a plethora of botanicals, including juniper berry, blackberry, cranberry, angelica, rosemary and coriander.

Mór Irish Gin was founded in 2015 by Eoin Bara. Bara hails from a line of distillers, and Mór was an homage to his roots, according to the brand. There are quite a few LGBTQ+-owned gin brands producing quality gins, and you can read all about them here.

Join the Whiskey Raiders Bottle of the Month Club, where you will receive hard-to-find bottles curated by Whiskey Raiders staff with a 90+ rating on whiskeyraiders.com plus live virtual tastings. Sign up here!