Ja Rule On Amber & Opal, His New Honey Rye Whiskey Model

Ja Rule admits he wasn’t a whiskey drinker — till he launched his personal. 

“I’m not likely a heavy drinker like that,” says the Queens-born hip-hop icon. “I’ll drink a sip of wine, just a little purple wine, just a little white wine, and be simple with it.”

However in 2024, together with longtime mates Herb Rice, Sandy Sandiford, and Kelvin Barton, Ja Rule launched his personal honey-infused rye whiskey, Amber & Opal, in Maryland. Now he hopes to develop it throughout the nation. 

What drew a non-whiskey drinker to the spirits enterprise within the first place? It began off as an funding concept, says Ja Rule. “We purchased this warehouse filled with whiskey [in Ohio], and there have been barrels that have been growing old. We have been going to age them to seven years and promote them at a premium. What occurred was, a purple mild goes off and [we say], let’s create a model, a enterprise with this.”

However once they determined they needed to create a distinct segment “honey botanical whiskey,” they have been suggested to not use the barrels they bought. (These barrels at the moment are being put to make use of for a 10-year-old “premium bourbon” that Amber & Opal will launch in a number of years.) 

This led the foursome in a unique route. Baltimore-based Rice, who Ja Rule calls a “whiskey connoisseur,” sought out an area distillery, and related with the Baltimore Spirits Firm, which was based in 2015 with the “raison d’etre of bringing Maryland rye manufacturing again to it’s cultural house.”

In partnership with the spirits firm, the founders settled on a mix of Maryland Straight Rye Whiskey — aged for 2 years in medium-charred oak barrels — with orange blossom honey and botanicals like lapsang souchong tea, cinnamon, ginger, and fig. The botanicals are sourced from one other Baltimore enterprise, Wight Tea Firm.

Rice says they tasted 30 forms of honey to search out the one that will finest swimsuit the smokiness of the lapsang souchong and the pure spiciness of rye. Ja Rule provides that his entry-level palate and his mates’ whiskey experience have been the right “yin and yang” to create a whiskey that’s appropriate for each veteran drinkers and the “whiskey-curious.” 

“We needed an entry level for brand new whiskey drinkers,” says Ja Rule. Though their product is nice, Rice notes that it isn’t a liqueur, however a flavored whiskey with a 80-proof spine.

They advocate serving it neat, with just a little ice, in a Gold Rush (which they name the “Amber Rush”), in an Previous Usual, or in a rye whiskey riff on a Moscow Mule. 

“I’m a Mule man,” says Ja Rule. “I really like Moscow Mules. I do Mexican Mules [with tequila]. So now I’m doing whiskey Mules.”

The title of the model displays each the amber liquid contained in the bottle and the variety that Ja Rule, Rice, Sandiford, and Kelvin hope to embody.

“Opal is a valuable stone that is available in numerous hues, and that’s what we wish Amber & Opal to be about,” Ja Rule says. “We would like it to be about inclusivity and all-inclusive to all people. Quite a lot of occasions when individuals see it’s a Black-owned model, they assume meaning Black solely. We don’t need individuals to take a look at our model as that. This can be a model [that is] first owned by 4 Black guys, however that is for everybody and we wish that to be our assertion.”

Along with Baltimore, Amber & Opal is now bought at Whole Wines places in California, Florida, New York, and New Jersey, and likewise ships to 35 states by way of seelbach.com. They plan to finally develop nationwide, says Ja Rule, however they’re not in a rush.

“We don’t wish to rush and do it the mistaken approach,” he says. “We wish to transfer very strategically, so we wish to personal our markets. Herb’s in Baltimore, Sandy’s out in Atlanta, I’m right here in New York and New Jersey.”

Ja Rule, who’s becoming a member of Nelly for parts of his “The place the Social gathering At” tour this summer time, plans to advertise the product at stops alongside the best way, visiting Whole Wines places through the daytime and assembly followers.

He additionally plans to launch a long-awaited album — his first in over a decade — in June. So how does releasing a whiskey evaluate to releasing an album?

“It’s very nerve-wracking when you’ve a brand-new product and it’s important to witness individuals attempting it for the primary time,” says Ja Rule. “It’d be the equal of me going onstage, performing a model new report,” he says together with his trademark husky giggle.

However the aim is maybe extra simple.

“I wish to see lots of empty bottles.”

Baltimore Spirits Firm Amber & Opal Honey Botanical Whiskey; $69.99 for one 750-milliliter bottle at seelbachs.com