Image via Complex Original
In addition to needing to know how to make, you know, music, most artists also have an unmatched expertise in getting wasted. So it only makes sense that many successful musicians have combined their know-how for getting paid with their know-how for getting on one. Until weed, blow, and heroin are legalized, their best bet is getting into the booze game. Here are ten of the more noteworthy alcoholic ventures from rappers, rockers, pop idols, and countrified twangers. They may not be the best in class, but they're definitely worth trying. And, for what it's worth, we're pretty sure that Ludacris' cognac blending skills are better than any distiller's skills on the mic.
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D'usse Cognac
Who: Jay Z
Buy it here, $54.99
The hip-hop/cognac connection reached its zenith in 2012 with the launch of Hova's own brand (pronounced "dew-SAY"), a V.S.O.P. (at least four years old). The cognac is housed in an elegant bottle sporting the Cross of Lorraine, "France's fabled emblem of courage, honor and perseverance," according to D'usse's website. Despite its age, it drinks like a younger cognac, with lively fruit and honeyed notes that make it perfect for either sipping or mixing in cocktails. Try it in a Sidecar or Sazerac. Or, if you've won a Grammy, do what Mr. Carter did at the 2013 awards show and drink some out of your trophy.
901 Tequila
Who: Justin Timberlake
Buy it here, $37.50
Named after both the area code in JT's hometown of Memphis and, in his words, the time "when the evening ends and the night begins," 901 is a silver (unaged) tequila developed from a 60-year-old recipe, using triple-distilled 100% blue agave. The website calls it "the world's first ultra-premium, hand-crafted tequila"—wait, wasn't that Patron? Regardless, the triple distillation (most tequilas are distilled twice) makes it very smooth, although a lot of the agave flavor is sacrificed in the process. But this is a tequila that's meant to be drank in cocktails while getting sweaty at da club, and as such, it works just fine.
Sammy's Beach Bar Rum
Who: Sammy Hagar
Buy it here, $19.99
The onetime Van Halen vocalist and singer of the immortal fast car anthem, 1984's "I Can't Drive 55," was also an early entrant in the musicians-making-spirits sweepstakes; his Cabo Wabo tequila made its debut back in 1996. Sammy divested his interest in Cabo Wabo a few years ago (coincidentally or not, just as it went from being a lousy tequila to a pretty good one). But in 2011, he returned to the game with Sammy's Beach Bar Rum, an unaged silver rum made from Hawaiian sugarcane juice as opposed to molasses, from which most rums are distilled. Beach Bar Rum is said to have the spicy, untamed flavor of a cachaça (a Brazilian sugarcane-based spirit) combined with the sweetness of a rum. It gives a nice (if somewhat odd) kick to cocktails from fruity tiki drinks, to rum and coke.
Ciroc Vodka
Who: Sean "Diddy" Combs
Buy it here, $29.97
Ciroc was an also-ran in the vodka world in 2007, selling a mere 40,000 cases that year. Of course, that was before Sean "Diddy" Combs came on board as Ciroc's brand ambassador. A mere four years later, the brand sold 1.5 million cases, making it a major player in the vodka world and proving once again that Diddy—or as he sometimes calls himself, "Ciroc Obama"—is a money making machine, having bought into the business for 50% of the profits. Ciroc is an unusual vodka, distilled from grapes instead of the usual potatoes or grains, and it's more flavorful than your typical odorless-colorless-tasteless vodkas. It's even been compared to a grappa. If you think typical vodka is a little too dull, or if you just like Diddy's Rat Pack-homage commercials, Ciroc is well worth a try.
Wild Shot Mezcal
Who: Toby Keith
Buy it here, $51.95
Mezcal is tequila's badass sibling. Both of them are distilled from the agave plant, but different methods of cooking it and extracting the juice make mezcal smoky and funky while tequila is smooth and sweet. Mezcal is the up-and-coming hipster spirit, a fact which probably wasn't lost on country star Toby Keith. Wild Shot has gotten mixed reviews from mezcal connoisseurs, but as an entry point, it's a fair representation of what mezcal is about in general. It's pleasantly smoky, though the inclusion of a worm in the bottle (actually a larvae) is a questionable gimmick. Toby says it's meant to be eaten; we're not so sure.
Voli Light Vodka
Who: Fergie and Pitbull
Buy it here, $22.99
Voli launched in 2007 but really took off in 2010, when Pitbull became a majority-equity owner, followed by Fergie in 2012. Voli's line of five vodkas, including flavors like cocoa raspberry and espresso vanilla fusion, is like Skinnygirl bottled cocktails— it's for drinkers who are more concerned with calories than with what's in the glass. And as such, it's not to be taken seriously by spirits snobs. Then again, Voli isn't intended for spirits snobs, and if you're downing it at a Black Eyed Peas show, you'll find that it's a perfectly palatable and a very smooth vodka. The catch? It's low-cal because some of the alcohol has been replaced by water; it's a mere 60 proof (30% alcohol) rather than the 80 proof required of non-flavored vodkas (even the unflavored Voli isn't called a vodka anywhere on the bottle, thereby skirting the law), so you'll have to drink more of it to get your buzz on.
Blue Chair Bay Rum
Who: Kenny Chesney
Buy it here, $19.99
Kenny Chesney has carved out a fair-sized niche for himself in the country-pop beach bum style of music first established by Mr. Margaritaville himself, Jimmy Buffett. So it only makes sense for Chesney to follow Buffett from the beach chair to the distillery. What Buffett is to tequila, Chesney aims to become with rum. (To be fair, there's a Margaritaville Rum too, which is hard to take seriously. It's like calling a tequila "Daiquiriville.") Blue Chair Bay is actually very good, with a lot of tropical fruit flavor along with a little citrus, a little brown sugar, and a little spice. It's not bad in a daiquiri, or a Mai Tai, or a Cuba Libre, and it's refreshing with a squeeze of fresh lime and a splash of soda. It's easy going down, and at $19 a bottle, it's an essential part of any pre-concert tailgating party.
Ty Ku Sake
Who: Cee-Lo Green, Perez Hilton, Ne-Yo
Buy it here, $15.99
Given the fancy packaging, the celebrity endorsements (investors/owners in the company include not only the ubiquitous Cee-Lo but Perez Hilton and Ne-Yo, to name just a few) and Americans' general ignorance of what makes a good sake, you'd think that Ty Ku could put anything in their triangular bottles and most people wouldn't know the difference. But Ty Ku is real premium sake from Japan, and it's received positive reviews, especially the more upscale junmai ginjo bottling. It's a bit pricey, but hey, those triangular bottles don't grow on trees. In addition to several kinds of sake, Ty Ku also sells soju and citrus liqueur.
Absinthe Mansinthe
Who: Marilyn Manson
Buy it here, $60.99
Ol' Marilyn was a shock-rocker supreme in the '90s, wearing outrageous futuristic goth outfits, singing about sex, drugs, and Satan, and basically baiting conservatives every chance he got. He also made some fair-to-middling metal-grunge music in the process. Now that his shtick has worn thin with the masses, Marilyn has turned to the most taboo of spirits to make ends meet. Absinthe had such a bad reputation that it was banned in the States for close to a century because it contained a chemical called thujone, which was said to cause hallucinations and psychosis. Recent studies have argued that it was the liquor's potency, not thujone, that was to blame. Absinthe is, after all, a ridiculous 130-140 proof. Absinthe Mansinthe, unlike much of Marilyn Manson's music, has received surprisingly good reviews for its heady blend of wormwood, fennel, and anise notes.
Conjure Cognac
Who: Ludacris
Buy it here, $19.99
Luda didn't just attach his name to Conjure, which was released in 2009; He also helped to blend it. Described as "a highly unique blend of both young and old cognacs," Conjure is aged in 50-year-old Limousin oak barrels, resulting in a light, fruity vibe that works well in cocktails or with a splash of cola, Luda's preferred quaffing method. For sipping, Conjure is a rung or two below the finest cognacs, but it's also a whole lot cheaper. And hey, gotta give the man props for actually blending the stuff himself.