53 Black-Owned Food Brands That You Need in Your Kitchen

These are products you'll swear by forever.

January 23, 2024

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Photo by: Trade Street Jam Co.

Trade Street Jam Co.

By T.K. Brady, Maggie Wong, Rachel Trujillo and Michelle Baricevic

Grocery shopping is habitual and something many of us do on a regular basis. It’s easy to buy the same brands, make the same meals and rarely take stock of what’s in our pantries. But as efforts to dismantle systemic racism continue, Americans are being called upon to put their money where their mouth is — and that means rethinking how we shop. Buying from Black-owned businesses is a way to continually support the Black community and stock your shelves with quality products you’ll use all the time. Below is a list of pantry staples, snacks, coffee, tea and wine brands available nationwide. It's important to note that we stand by these products for their quality, taste and craftsmanship — not simply because they're Black-owned.

And these products are not the end. Once you've shopped this list, we encourage you to seek out local Black-owned food businesses in your area. On social media, you’ll find resources with information on where to donate (community bail funds, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Black Lives Matter are good places to start), lists of restaurants to patronize, documentaries and films to watch and books to read.

This list has been updated from its original publish date. We will continue to add more food and drink businesses that can be purchased throughout the country or that ship nationwide.

Pantry Staples

Photo by: Capital City Co.

Capital City Co.

When Washington D.C.-native Arsha Jones moved to the suburbs of Maryland, she missed the mambo sauce she grew up with in the city. To give her family a taste of the sweet, sticky, tangy capital condiment, she started making her own in her kitchen. And thus, along with her husband Charles, Capital City Co. was born. The sauce — perfect for wings, but also great as an all-purpose ingredient — comes in stylishly clean 12-ounce squeeze bottles, or by the gallon! You can buy the sauce at local grocery chains, including Wegmans, H Mart and Safeway and at other major retailers, such as Amazon, Walmart and Target, and even QVC.

You’ve probably looked at a package of waffle mix and thought there must be a way to make batter without all the added preservatives and artificial ingredients in most mixes. ReMix is your answer to that. Made with only natural ingredients and void of preservatives and added flavors, according to the site, you simply add one large egg, buttermilk or milk and butter or oil to the mix for the fluffiest, most flavorful waffles. The brand also offers a gluten-free mix.

Photo by: Ghetto Gastro

Ghetto Gastro

Ghetto Gastro merges the culinary traditions of the Global South to show how food connects the world. Coining the phrase “Food for Freedom, Fuel for Thought,” founders Jon Gray, Lester Walker and Pierre Serrao take on breakfast foods with a bold twist, introducing portable toaster pastries, spicy-flavored syrup and plant-based pancake and waffle mix you can find at Target. This brand represents resilience and innovation while transforming palates and impacting communities based on what’s on your plate every morning.

“Small batch from scratch” is the motto you’ll see on the homepage of Southern Culture Kitchen's website. Erica Barrett, frustrated by the amount of time, money and ingredients it took to make a single pancake from scratch set out to create a mix that would solve her problem. Her pancake and waffle mixes, created with help from her mother, are made with real ingredients that can be cooked semi-homemade with a totally-from-scratch taste. With flavors like banana pudding, birthday cake and bourbon salted pecan, the mixes are made for a fun breakfast at home.

After years of passing down her great, great, great grandmothers decadent, honey-based syrup recipe, Michele Hoskins decided to follow her dream of sharing that family recipe with the world. She first secured a spot in two large retail chains in the Chicago area, then Michele became the first minority supplier for Denny’s and Walmart and has partnered with General Mills and Sara Lee, according to her website. You can now find this product in most major grocery stores to add to pancakes and waffles or to use as a condiment for a variety of sweet and savory dishes, too.

Photo by: EssieSpice

EssieSpice

Essie Bartels’ love affair with spice started in her mother’s kitchen in Ghana and has blossomed into her very own spice shop. Her small-batch blends include traditional West-African spices with influences from Asia, the Caribbean, South America and Europe. The jars of “bottled up joy” are versions of her homemade sauces and are perfect for marinating meats and vegetables, as dips and on desserts. Choose from mixtures TamarindOH, Mekko Dry Rub, Mango Chili Medley or Coco-For-Garlic — or try all four in the EssieSpice Essential Sauce Collection.

Photo by: Exau Olive Oil

Exau Olive Oil

Created by wife and husband, Skyler and Giuseppe, EXAU Olive Oil was born out of the “modern culinary needs of Americans and more than 75 years of Calabrian craftsmanship.” Olives are grown and pressed in the couple’s estate in Calabria, Italy. The resulting award-winning bottles of the EVOO go for $25 to $27 each. If you find yourself constantly running out of olive oil, subscribe to the business’ Excelsis or Mango Valde Club to get bottles shipped every four months.

Fonio is a West African super grain dating as far back as ancient Egypt. It's nutrient dense and high in protein, fiber and iron and has a low glycemic index. Fonio is naturally gluten-free and quicker cooking than couscous. For every Yolélé Foods product purchased, part of the proceeds goes back to the fonio farmers in Africa. Try Perfect Fonio or Jollof Fonio to get this grain into your meal rotation.

Photo by: Trade Street Jam Co.

Trade Street Jam Co.

Trade Street Jam Co. knows they're not your average jam purveyor — it says so on their website. With flavors like Smoked Yellow Peach and Plum + Rose, these jars are good for more than just spreading on toast (although, you should definitely do that, too). They're ideal for mixing into salad dressings, sauces, marinades and more. The brand's 100% vegan jams are developed by Ashley Rouse, Trade Street Jam Co's founder and in-house chef, and made by hand in small batches. All of the jams are free from pectin, which means the texture will be a bit thinner than your usual spread, but cleaner in taste. You can buy Trade Street Jam Co. on the company’s site, as well as in stores around the country. Start with the Trio or Welcome gift set to find the flavor you'll use again and again.

Photo by: Photo courtesy of A Dozen Cousins

Photo courtesy of A Dozen Cousins

Inspired by the Southern, Caribbean and Latino recipes founder Ibraheem Basirgrew up eating, A Dozen Cousins started by selling vegan and gluten-free microwavable bean pouches that are both delicious and easy to prepare. A Dozen Cousins has expanded to include entrée seasoning sauces like Mexican Pollo Asado Sauce, Jamaican Jerk Seasoning and Peruvian Pollo a la Brasa, and rice seasoning sauces for dishes including Caribbean coconut rice, Mexican red rice and arroz con gandules. The brand is also devoted giving back through an annual grant and volunteer support to a variety of non-profit organizations.

Zach & Zoë

Photo by: Zach & Zoe Sweet Bee Farm

Zach & Zoe Sweet Bee Farm

Family-owned business Zach & Zoe Sweet Bee Farm offers a wide array of raw, flavor-infused honey harvested in New Jersey. Flavors include lavender, matcha, beetroot, ginger and seasonal offerings like blueberry, all of which are infused with real deal, high-quality ingredients. Seriously, the lavender jar is filled to the brim with fresh flower buds! Use the honeys in drinks, on breakfast foods or desserts and incorporated into savory entrees. Like olive oil, honey is one of those ingredients that’s worth investing a few extra bucks in. If your go-to is the generic-brand plastic honey bear, we promise you’ll taste the difference with Zach & Zoe. You can purchase the honey online through their site or at various specialty stores through the United States.

Put down the instant pancake mix you’ve been buying all these years and pick this up instead. Co-founder Christian Sargent’s mom, Vicky, developed this pancake recipe 40 years ago using products she found in her pantry — and it’s stood the test of time. Vicky Cakes' five pancake mixes are made without powdered milk or preservatives, so they’re vegan and fresher than your average pancake mix. The brand says it’s the “anti-just-add-water” mix, as the recipe calls for other staple ingredients like eggs and milk. If waffles are more your thing, this mix will work for you, too.

Chances are you've seen Glory Foods products in your supermarket before. The line of products launched in 1992 in Columbus, OH with pre-seasoned canned vegetables. In the 28 years since, the brand has grown to 64 products including canned fruits and beans, packaged fresh greens, bottled hot sauce and boxed muffin mix. All of Glory Farms' produce is grown within the United States, with 80% of it being locally sourced within 150 miles of the canning facility.

Photo by: Iya Foods

Iya Foods

From kale powder to cassava flour, Iya Foods is a health and wellness destination. The brand’s mission is to bring African-inspired healthy ingredients to an American audience. You’ll find a variety of whole food powders that are perfect for adding a nutritional boost to smoothies, grains and baked goods. And, if you’re looking for some alternative flours, Iya Foods offers a wide variety, including baking mixes. For all products on the site, Iya Foods lists a variety of uses, so you’ll be ready with ideas when it arrives at your door.

Photo by: Pitmaster LT's

Pitmaster LT's

Get a taste of the “Barbecue Capital of the World” in your own kitchen. Developed and perfected over three decades by a Kansas City pit master, Pitmaster LT’s small but mighty selection of barbecue sauces and dry rubs use only premium natural ingredients to give meats, beans and more a smoky, Kansas City flavor. Self-dubbed the “Official BBQ Sauce of Good Eatin’,” Mr. LT’s blends can be found at major retailers like Whole Foods and Walmart.

Starting with her grandmother’s recipe, the CEO of Mama’s Biscuits, Lesley Riley, became dedicated to finding the secret to the perfect biscuit. It's how she created gourmet biscuits made with real butter and free from trans-fat, preservatives and artificial flavors. Mama’s Biscuits ready-to-eat biscuits come in a variety of sweet and savory flavors including classic Buttermilk Biscuits, Cheddar Chive biscuits and Bananas Foster biscuits. Look for them at your local Publix, Walmart, Wegman's or Trader Joe’s, or shop them on Amazon.

Founded by former NFL star Reggie Kelly, Kyvan was created to share Kelly and his family’s love for Southern cooking with people from all walks of life. The company specializes in innovative sauces, seasonings, jams and salsas, made with secret family recipes. The line includes Honey Apple Salsa, Honey Apple Butter, Sweet Potato BBQ Sauce and one of our personal favorites, Honey Apple BBQ Sauce, which plays like your typical BBQ sauce but with a mix of warm spices that sing and dance on your taste buds.

Photo by: Neilly's Foods

Neilly's Foods

If you’re looking for a quick, easy and affordable way to explore flavors from around the globe in your very own kitchen, Neilly’s Foods is here to help! Founded by Albert and Julie Ndjee, the brand offers a variety of healthy frozen foods inspired by "hidden regions throughout the world." Some of the products include Yucca fries, sweet plantains, chicken and beef empanadas and rice mixes, including Cajun Gumbo, Jambalaya, West African Jollof, Coconut Rice and Jerk Rice and Black Beans. Opt for one of these products the next time you need a quick dinner or snack solution.

If you’ve ever found yourself lamenting about all those extra granola crumbs you’ve found hanging around your keyboard or lining the bottom of your bookbag after eating a typical granola bar, It's NOLA founder Margaret Barrow knows just how you feel. In fact, that was one of the reasons she created her toasted granola balls. As a college professor, Margaret began sharing small batches of her homemade vegan granola with students and other faculty members, wanting them to have a snack option that wasn’t just healthy, but tasted delicious, too. Several semesters of encouragement and more than 10 flavors later, BKLYN Granola LLC. was born. Today, the brand prides itself on using only ethically sourced, organic ingredients to make their hand-rolled, “nougat-meets chewy”, treats. With flavors like Luscious Cranberry Coconut, Sassy Mango Masala and Dark Decadent Chewy Chocolate, BKLYN Granola is sure to become your new favorite afternoon or midnight snack. The brand also supports mentoring relationships with community college students and has committed 10% of their future profits to college mentoring programs.

Photo by: Tonya's Cookies

Tonya's Cookies

If you’re looking for a cookie unlike any you’ve ever had before, Tonya Council has just the thing for you. Modeled after the mouthwatering pecan pies her grandmother, Southern cooking legend Mildred Council, made her as a child, Tonya’s beloved Pecan Crisps will put a big smile on your face. Made from high-quality and locally sourced ingredients, each one of Tonya’s cookies also pays homage to her Southern roots and her family history, and they come in several delicious varieties, including crunchy Peanut Brittle, decadent Chocolate, refreshing Peppermint and creamy White Chocolate Drizzle. You can also purchase each flavor of cookie crisps in a beautiful jar or tin, so you’ll have a fun keepsake after you finish eating each batch!

Photo by: Art of Light Studio by Maria Squires

Art of Light Studio by Maria Squires

If you’ve ever experienced a food allergy before, you already know that finding a snack without eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy and other top allergens can be really difficult. Enter Partake Foods. Featuring iconic flavors like chocolate chip, birthday cake, triple chocolate, gingersnap and more, each box of crunchy and soft-baked Partake cookies are vegan, free of the top nine allergens, gluten-free and OU Kosher certified, so everyone from the littlest cookie fan to the biggest can snack without worry.

Proudly women- and minority-owned Pipcorn began in 2012 selling hand-stamped bags of tiny popcorn at famous food market Smorgasburg, in Brooklyn, NY. The brand has since expanded to offer not only their signature light and crunchy mini popcorn made with heirloom kernels, but also equally delightful heirloom-based cheese balls, corn dippers and snack crackers. Don’t believe us? Take Oprah’s word for it — these better-for-you snacks have been named one of her favorite things not once, not twice, but four times.

Photo by: Symphony Chips

Symphony Chips

Originally founded as a spice blend, Symphony Chips is on a mission to give snackers of all ages a gourmet potato chip experience. The family-owned business uses all-natural ingredients like sea salt, ground mustard, hickory, parsley, paprika, chopped onions and more to give their gluten-free chips a mouthwatering and harmonious flavor in every bite.

You could buy this granola to top your morning yogurt bowl, but customers claim it's delicious eaten right out of the bag. Oh-Mazing owner, Stephanie Williams, started making her own granola as a healthier snack than what she was finding on grocery store shelves. Now, Stephanie's recipe is what you'll find on those same shelves. The blends are made with whole foods and are free of preservatives and fillers. Unlike many granola blends, the Original, Oatmeal Raisin, Lemon Bar and Cranberry Orange flavors are nut-free and made with gluten-free oats, and the Caribbean Delight blend is vegan. Eat the clusters as a snack or use them to top your next bowl of ice cream.

Two ingredients go a really long – and delicious – way in Sol Cacao’s dairy and nut-free chocolate bars. The Bronx-based company is owned and operated by Daniel, Dominic and Nicholas Maloney, three brothers, who were inspired to form the company after seeing how difficult it was to find quality chocolate like the kind they had grown up eating in Trinidad and Tobago. The brand prides itself on using sustainable organic farming practices and ethnical sources for all their raw materials, including their cacao beans. We can’t wait to try their Peru bar, which has hints of apricots and raisins, and their Madagascar bar, which has raspberry, plum and cherry notes.

Bakery Confections & Desserts

Photo by: Alana Peters

Alana Peters

Brooklyn-based Auzerais Bellamy spent a decade perfecting her blondie recipe, based on a memory of a pecan praline candy she ate as a child. This original blondie recipe soon grew into a wider offering of blondies and brownies you can now find on Blondery’s site. Whether you’re interested in Bellamy’s pecan and salted caramel blondie (the original) or a chocolate lover’s dream, the Brooklyn Blackout Blondie, you’re sure to find joy in every box.

The Salty Heifer has a huge variety of treats ranging from gourmet cakes and cookies to decadent cheesecakes and pies. The bakery’s mission is to craft goodies with simple, delicious ingredients, “with the perfect combination of sophistication, Michelin Star training, and good old-fashioned love.”

For Genelle Drayton, Sweet Dames Artisan Confections is more than just a bakery, it’s a tribute to her family. Genelle named the company after her grandfather and grandmother, Henry and Daisy Dames, and credits the Bahamian coconut cakes she grew up eating as the jumping off point for her chewy, melt-in-your-mouth macaroons and macaroon bites. Sweet Dames offers four macaroon flavors, including a Pineapple Coconut version, which contains hints of rum and ginger, a Salted Caramel Coconut version, which is drizzled with a made-from-scratch caramel sauce, a decadent Chocolate-Dipped Coconut version, which is covered in rich, harden chocolate, and a nutty Chocolate Almond Spice version, which contains notes of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and roasted almonds. Dessert lovers will also love the brand’s CocoMallow Sandwiches, which feature a fluffy homemade marshmallow nestled between two golden-brown coconut cookies. Each one of Sweet Dames treats are also wheat- and dairy-free.

Serving freshly baked Caribbean goods since 1961, Allan’s Bakery is a third generation, owned-family business based in Brooklyn. Opened by namesake Allan and his wife Gloria, the bakery is currently run by their daughter, Sharon Smith, who has been keeping the tradition of bread and pastries alive. Its shelves are stocked with currant and coconut rolls, hardo breads, patties and codfish balls, pone, pound cake and more. Grab a box to-go in-store — or get a haul shipped straight to you.

Photo by: Cornbread26 Food Co.

Cornbread26 Food Co.

Cornbread26 is a New York City-based full-service catering company founded by couple Claude Malone and Craig Baker. But if you’re not in the Tri-State area, the company’s signature Cornbread Madeleines can be shipped — and are the perfect treat for any occasion. Whether you’re celebrating a major milestone, or just need an afternoon pick-me-up, the unique cross between the elegance of a madeleine and the gritty comfort of cornbread will bring a smile to your face. The madeleines come in a wide array of flavors – from simpler takes like Orange and Lemon to more inventive ones like Strawberry Velvet and Caramel Bourbon Brulée. No matter which flavors you choose, you’ll be biting into something truly special.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Two bee stings and a 1940’s cookbook recipe: those were the things that inspired now 16-year-old Mikaila Ulmer to create Me & the Bees Lemonade nearly 10 years ago. Using her great grandmother’s Flaxseed Lemonade recipe as inspiration, Mikaila’s unique lemonade blend uses sugar and bee honey to create a beverage unlike any other. Today, the brand has delicious lemonade flavors, including Mint, Ginger, Iced Tea, Prickly Pear and Classic and can be found in grocery stores across the country like Whole Foods Market, Kroger and H-E-B. Mikaila also founded the Healthy Hive Foundation, a non-profit organization that’s dedicated to promoting social entrepreneurship and saving the honeybee population through education, research and protection. Plus, 10% of all Me and the Bees Lemonade sales go towards helping the organization achieve this goal.

What started as a high school business competition proposal for LaTonia Cokely grew into a company offering loose-leaf, hand-blended teas that are all sustainably sourced, according to the site. More than 15 years later, she is now offering signature blends including Ceremony, a white peony leaf tea with rose petals, cardamom, cinnamon and more, Home Sweet, a blend of carrots, almonds, apples Assam black tea and cinnamon, and Puddin’, a blend consisting of African honeybush, banana, vanilla, almond, cinnamon and coconut.

Tea doesn’t need to be expensive in order for it to be a luxury; that’s the founding mission of Kimberly Brown’s company, KimBees. Offering customers “the most innovative trends in the tea industry,” KimBees sells a variety of affordable and awarding-winning green and black teas in bottled, boxed and concentrate options. With flavors like Sweetened and Unsweetened Almond Green Tea, Sweetened and Unsweetened Lemon-Raspberry Green Tea and Sweetened and Unsweetened Peach-Mango Green Tea, choosing just one blend for your first order will be the hardest part! KimBees also offers a gourmet selection of coffee blends and homemade peanut brittle in both Original and Cranberry flavors.

Photo by: Karen Epstein

Karen Epstein

Friends and founders Denetrias Charlemagne and Alex Doman realized all drinks had one thing in common: compromise. But as for the drink mixers they were seeing? Hardly any. Unsatisfied by the typical options — soda water, juice, ginger beer — that barely offered flavor or were loaded with sugar, they created mixers that are both delicious and better for you. Coming in five fun flavors — Yuzu & Lime, Grapefruit & Pomelo, Jalapeno & Blood Orange, Hibiscus & Pomegranate and Ginger — these tiny cans make happy hour at home easy yet elegant. When trying these ourselves, we loved them enough to drink solo (and with the occasional spirit as well!). Just pop open one of these low-calorie, low-sugar cans and pour over any spirit you have on hand.

Photo by: Blk & Bold Coffee and Tea

Blk & Bold Coffee and Tea

When Blk & Bold’s founders created a line of coffee and tea, they saw it as an opportunity to make a difference. As a company, they pledge 5% of profits to youth programming, workforce development and eliminating youth homelessness — giving your morning routine an extra sense of purpose. They offer a variety of coffee and tea blends and the option to subscribe (or pick up a bag at your local Target). Your favorite blend can be delivered on the date of your choice and as frequently as you desire.

Photo by: Brooklyn Tea

Brooklyn Tea

Promising a product that is the highest quality, organic and fair trade whenever possible, Brooklyn Tea has an assortment of blends that will excite any tea lover. Here, you’ll find a Cream Earl Grey, Milk Oolong and Lemongrass as well as Cucumber Melon Green, Ginger Turmeric and Kyoto Cherry Rose Sencha.

Photo by: Chicago French Press

Chicago French Press

If you're a fan of flavored coffee, you’ll want to add Chicago French Press blends to your shopping cart ASAP. Not only is their coffee organic, it’s also flavored completely by hand to give you one-of-a-kind flavors and aromas in every sip. Choose your grind based on your coffee machine: auto-drip, Keurig, French press, espresso or whole bean. With flavors like Coconut Creme, Chocolate Blueberry, Maple Pecan, Peach Nectar, Snicker Doodle and Lemon Brulee, the hardest thing you’ll have to do is choose which one to try first.

Red Bay Coffee is committed to doing more than just providing customers with a strong cup of joe. Based in California, the company has devoted itself to using its high-quality coffee products to promote diversity and inclusion by hiring people of color, the formerly incarcerated, women and people with disabilities. The brand offers decaf, espresso and signature coffee blends, including the King’s Prize, which contains notes of honeysuckle, white peach and melon, and their East Fourteenth, which has hints dark chocolate, date and blackberry. Each coffee blend also comes in whole bean, drip and espresso grinds and is delivered in 12-ounce bags, so you can easily store them in your pantry or cupboard.

Photo by: Dope Coffee

Dope Coffee

Dope Coffee is an e-commerce-first local coffee shop. The Black-, woman- and veteran-owned business is creating a new kind of coffee culture inspired by Black culture with flavors that everyone can appreciate. With blends of beans from South America and Africa, the flavors are smooth and drinkable without the bitter aftertaste you might be accustomed to. Not sure where to start? Order a Pleasure Pack of four blends to find the one you want to drink every morning.

Sip on something refreshing with Berry Bissap, a company dedicated to bottling bissap. The spiced hibiscus tea originates from Senegal but has grown popular in West Africa. Berry Bissap sells the drink in its original form but also offers variations of Pineapple, Mixed Berry and Cinnamon Citrus. Enjoy the tart and refreshing beverage on its own, mixed with seltzer, spiked or mulled.

Photo by: Photo c/o Ezra Coffee

Photo c/o Ezra Coffee

Jessica Taylor founded Ezra Coffee in 2021 as a way to promote the powerful stories of Black culture through the lense of delicious coffee. Each of the brand's blends is designed to tell a story of iconic moments in Black culture in America and around the world. A bag of Toasted Southern Pecan, for example, is an ode to the iconic nut, which was domesticated in Louisiana by an enslaved horticulturist in the mid-1800s. Sales of the coffee blends also make a social impact through the Ezra Scholarship, a program designed to help students who struggle to complete four-year degrees due to financial holds on their accounts. You can buy bags of coffee directly from the brand's website or find the bags at Target and H-E-B stores.

Wine & Spirits

Photo by: Photo courtesy of Sorel

Photo courtesy of Sorel

Created by Jackie Summers, the first licensed Black distiller in the U.S., Sorel Liqueur is inspired by sorrel, a spiced hibiscus drink with roots in West Africa and the Caribbean. As told on Sorel’s website, the stunningly bottled liqueur is a 500-year-old story in the making. Sorrel as we know it came to be through the violent history of the Transatlantic Trade and a mixing of culinary cultures – that of the enslaved African people who brought hibiscus flowers and their knowledge of it across the ocean; that of The Lokono (The Arawak)-Indigenous peoples who inhabited the island now known as Barbados; and that of the British navel officers who added rum to tea to preserve it.

Summers’ grandparents, Deighton and Nita Merrick, emigrated to the U.S. from Barbados in the 1920s to Harlem, New York. They passed down their culinary tradition and heritage to Summers’ mother, Billy, who then passed it onto him.

Sorel is Summers’ homage to his Barbadian heritage. The dark, ruby red liqueur is beautifully bright in flavor, spiced with clove and ginger. It’s good enough to sip straight, but it’s also super versatile – top it off with sparkling water or wine, or shake it into an array of cocktails.

Photo by: Photo courtesy of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

Photo courtesy of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

Inspired by the first known African American distiller, Nathan “Nearest” Green, the Uncle Nearest brand carries three premium batch whiskeys and is the most award-winning American whiskey brand. The 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey and the 1884 Small Batch Whiskey have both received Gold Medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Fawn Weaver, the company’s CEO and founder, leads the operation and has overseen the brand’s expansion to all 50 states and 12 countries.

Bertony Faustin, founder of Abbey Creek Winery, became the first Black winemaker in Oregon after planting an additional seven acres of grapes to the property’s existing five and establishing the wine label in 2008. The wine label has grown to include a variety of wines, including Chardonnay, Sparkling Blanc de Noir and Pinot Noir.

Photo by: Love Cork Screw Wine

Love Cork Screw Wine

At Love Cork Screw, you’ll find a selection of six vegan wines made from grapes that have been selected to achieve a balanced, complex and intense flavor. Start with a five pack, which includes Pinot Grigio, Sweet Riesling, Niagara, Rosé and red table Concord, or join the wine club to have two bottles shipped four times a year, directly to your doorstep. Once you’re hooked on the wine, snag some fun merchandise including tumblers, corkscrews and wine-scented body butter.

Marvina Robinson’s love for champagne began in college and it branched into a business when she decided to create a private house label to serve at her champagne bar. She worked with a vineyard in France to develop a Rosé and Grand Reserve Brut and named the champagne brand after her hometown of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, NY. Stuyvesant Champagne is one of the few Black and woman-owned champagne brands, and Robinson hopes she can, “bring a taste of home, spice and culture to the Champagne community.”

If you’re looking to expand your palate and discover new wines, turn to Brown Napa Valley. Their wine membership program comes in three levels, offering between 12 and 28 bottles of newly released wines per year and complimentary tastings. If you already know what you like, browse their site for a wide selection of wines including Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Betelgeuse Sauv Blanc.

Photo by: McBride Sisters

McBride Sisters

When the two sisters behind McBride Sisters Wine reunited after living in separate continents for most of their lives, they quickly bonded over a mutual passion for wine. Taking inspiration from their hometowns of Marlborough, New Zealand, and Monterey, California, the two channeled that passion into what is now the largest African-American-owned wine company in the United States. McBride Sisters Wine’s collections include a newly released New Zealand Sparkling Brut Rosé, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a Central Coast California Red Blend. They also offer other wine collections, including their Black Girl Magic collection of California Riesling, California Rosé and California Red Blend, and the SHE CAN collection of canned wines, which is inspired by both of their mothers.

Photo by: Photo courtesy of ZAFA Wines

Photo courtesy of ZAFA Wines

Krista Scruggs makes natural wines and ciders, or as she calls them, “just fermented juice.” Based in Vermont, ZAFA Wines farm grows grapes and produces playfully named bottles – like “Jungle Fever” and “The Science of Sleep” – that “finish under cap” as traditional-method sparkling wines. Scruggs also co-owns winery and tasting room CO Cellars, where ZAFA drinks are “ideally… consumed and purchased.” But if you can’t make it to Vermont for curbside pickup, you can order direct from the ZAFA wines website.

Photo by: Maison Noir Wines

Maison Noir Wines

When a top sommelier starts his own wine company, you make room on your wine rack immediately. In 2007, André Hueston Mack started Maison Noir as a project making garage wines (very-small-batch blends) for the New York restaurants he worked in. Now, his wine is available for purchase nationwide. You'll find whites, rosés and red, so there's something for every wine drinker. Don’t forget to check out the “Schwag” section of the site, which offers a plethora of original graphic tees for sale.

This whiskey is a blend of one-year-old bourbon and six-month malt whiskey that comes into contact with three different types of toasted oak in a patented filtration process, according to the site. According to the founder, Abisola Abidemi, "Abisola Whiskey is the result of my love of whiskey and of celebration." You can have it shipped to you through ReserveBar, or you can find it at various liquor stores throughout New York, California and Florida.

Photo by: Grown Folks

Grown Folks

Influenced by the adults in her life she referred to as “grown folks,” Danica Dias crafted Grown Folks Hard Seltzer in 2021 to pass down her family’s culinary traditions. Since then, Grown Folks has become the first Black- and female-owned hard seltzer brand inspired by Black culture, and Dias has made it her mission to keep her family’s culinary heritage in all her products — like the soul-food-inspired peach cobbler-, ambrosia- and key lime-flavored hard seltzers. Made with real fruit juice and a sugar brew base, these seltzers can be found at Whole Foods, Total Wine & More, Sam’s Club and Lucky California.

Bourbon shouldn't be a drink reserved for men. Husband-and-wife team Tomeka and Herbert Purcell set out to create PurCellos1789 bourbon to be a bottle couples could enjoy together. Their liquor is is bottled and distilled in Colorado Springs, making it unique compared to other American-made bourbons on the market — and making them the first Black bourbon distillers in Colorado. The bourbon is designed to be enjoyed both neat or in a cocktail at dinner. And the affordable price point at $65 a bottle makes it accessible for a variety of bourbon drinkers.

Co-founders Amani Macaulay and Chima Burey set out to create a whiskey for everyone with great flavor that didn't sacrifice the complexity many whiskey drinkers are after. Soon, Duke & Dame was born. It's a craft whiskey with "robust salted caramel flavor," according to the brand's website. The hope is that the whiskey is flavorful enough to be enjoyed neat while also being creative enough to use in cocktails or even a shot glass. To try the spirit for yourself, you can shop online or use the brand's store locator to find a retailer near you.

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