Celebrity Products at Discount Liquor

When I was doing my research for this article, I was actually a little surprised how many there were. Without even looking at the beer side of things, I found a list of 67 celebrity owned or endorsed spirits. Is that a complete list, probably not. But even I was unaware there were that many. Many of them are not available here in Saskatchewan (I have been asked for a few that I can’t bring in), and some that we do have I was completely unaware they had celebrity ownership.

This month we will take a taste…err…look at a dozen or so of these celebrity brands.

Aviation Gin – Ryan Reynolds

$44.70

Aviation gin is named after the Aviation cocktail which, to be honest, I don’t think I can even order all of the ingredients for. Founded in 2006, Deadpool purchased partial ownership in early 2018, which gave a definite boost to the small distillery based in Portland, Oregon.

I’m not going to lie….I don’t think I’ve ever had gin in my life. But anytime I’m watching the game or scrolling through Facebook, being in this business liquor ads always get a second glance from me. Having said that, the Aviation American Gin ads that I have seen starring Ryan Reynolds are a testament to why he is one of Canada’s favorite actors. According to Wikipedia, Aviation Gin even makes a cameo appearance in Deadpool 2, though I have not rewatched the movie to confirm this. If you go to their website and watch some of the productions there, they are definitely entertaining, even if you don’t drink gin.

Aviation Gin was acquired by spirit giant Diageo in August 2020, though Ryan Reynolds does still maintain stake in the product.

Teremana Tequila – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

$58.70 (Silver)

Can you smeeelllllll….what The Rock is distilling? Teremana tequila was founded by Dwayne Johnson only a few years ago, but has already won awards such as Tequila of the Year from USA Spirits Ratings in 2021, and the top Master rating from The Tequila and Mezcal Masters earlier this year.

Everything about Teremana is small batch and hand crafted, including the custom made copper stills used in the distillation process. All products needed for the recipe are grown on site at the farm and distillery in the Mexican highlands, and leftover fibers from the agave plants not used as part of the distillation process are in turn used as fertilizer for the next crop.

Wild Turkey Longbranch – Matthew McConaughey

$61.65

All right, all right, all right! In 2016, Matthew McConaughey was hired by the Campari Group as their creative director and celebrity spokesperson for Wild Turkey Bourbon as an attempt to attract more female consumers to the brand.

Being somewhat of a whiskey connoisseur himself, shortly after McConaughey and master distiller Eddie Russel collaborated (no, not like a social media influencer) and came up with Longbranch, a twist on the traditional Wild Turkey bourbon, aged 8 years and then refined using American oak and mesquite charcoal to give it a deeper, more complex finish at 43%.

Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey – Conor McGregor

$41.00

Proper No. Twelve was born in 2018 from a partnership between UFC megastar Conor McGregor and former Guinness brewer/distiller David Elder. In other words, Conor’s money and David’s expertise. Based on the same stock as Bushmills Irish whiskey. After being triple distilled it is aged in once-used bourbon barrels to give it a finish with hints of vanilla and honey, though several articles I found mention a unique taste and aroma of green apple.

The Proper No. Twelve name is a not to the neighborhood in Dublin where Conor grew up called Crumlin, which bears the postal code Dublin 12. Residents of the area will often refer to something good as being a ‘proper no. twelve, meaning it was made like they would have done it in their neighborhood.

Crystal Head Vodka – Dan Aykroyd and John Alexander

$61.00 (Original Blend)

In 2008, Canadian actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd and artist John Alexander entered the spirits market. Aykroyd, concerned about the lack of vodka options that were free of additives, decided to create one of his own. Based in Newfoundland and produced by Globefill Inc., there are now three varieties of Crystal Head – the original recipe made using sweet Peaches and Cream corn, Aurora made with English wheat, and Onyx, distilled using authentic Mexican blue agave and is one o the only agave vodkas on the market.

The name of the brand comes from the legend of the thirteen crystal skulls – the same legend that inspired the Indiana Jones movie from a few years ago. Dan Aykroyd has always been fascinated by the legend, and used it as inspiration when coming up with the name and bottle for the vodka.

Voli Vodka – Armando Perez

Not Available

Voli Vodka was founded in 2008 in France as a low calorie vodka option when the low calorie movement was just starting to take hold. A few years later, an agreement was made with one Armando Perez, better known to the world and Pitbull. In 2016, Mr. Worldwide purchased the remaining stock in Voli and moved production to his home of Miami. This came with a rebranding to Voli 305, a nod to one of his monikers from his music career. Voli 305 was the first ever ultra premium vodka brand made in Miami.

As of this article, it does not appear that Voli is available in Canada…I can say for certain that it not available in either Saskatchewan or Alberta at this time.

We are going to be taking a look at a few more celebrity brands that are available later in the month, as this is just a small sampling, and there are still beers, wines, liqueurs all owned in part or in full by names that you know better than the brands.

Until next time….cheers!

by Discount Liquor

Celebrity Products at Discount Liquor

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