Black Bourbon Enthusiasts Find Community in the Black Bourbon Society
Samara Davis is Creating Change in the Spirit Space
Black bourbon enthusiasts are claiming their space and bringing their own chairs to the table. As a whiskey lover myself I have to tell you, if you aren’t familiar with the Black Bourbon Society you should be. The Black Bourbon Society, or BBS, fills a gap where there is a lack of engagement with bourbon consumers of color.
Samara Davis started out running her own event planning company. As she gradually began adding bourbon to her wine rotation, she became more and more intrigued about the nuances of bourbon. After many collaborations in the event space Samara recognized that many brands were missing out on a key demographic. Those in the Black community who are well established in their careers, and many with disposable income, are not always considered in the spirit space. I have to say that I have noticed the image in an ad of a person pouring a neat glass of whiskey often does not look like me, though I am whiskey fan, and I prefer a neat pour. This is not exclusive to the spirits industry, the lack of diverse decision makers has been an ongoing conversation.
Inspired by the refreshing taste of summer and the welcoming cool of watermelon. Cheers!
As an industry consumer and facilitator, Samara started BBS, hosting educational excursions, building brand partnerships, and curating events centered around bourbon. The foundation of BBS is supported by a Facebook group of over 23k members, myself and my husband are two of those members.
The key to connecting with BBS members in a meaningful way is to actively engage the community. One of the largest events for the BBS members is the annual Bourbon Boule, BBS holds in-person and virtual events throughout the year. The most recent event, the Open Door Tour, is a partnership between BBS and Jim Beam to visit five cities across the country, highlighting Black owned bars and restaurants. This celebration of “Black excellence through culture, cocktails and cuisine” has been highly successful, as evidenced by all of the sold out event dates.
This year BBS is celebrating a 5 year anniversary and will continue to celebrate for the entire year. A part of that celebration is the creation of a Private Selection with Maker’s Mark. Though this anniversary pick marks a special occasion, it is not the first bottle with the BBS touch. The first BBS Maker’s Mark Private Select bottle won Double Gold Custom-Finished Bourbon at the 19th Annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Samara has built a relationship with the brand over the years and collaborated on several events. That relationship is what brought about the opportunities for BBS to create Private Selections.
“Pursue your purpose confidently. Don’t be afraid to go after it.”
Samara Davis
With the success and impact of BBS, Samara and her husband Armond Davis founded Diversity Distilled. They noticed an obvious need for more diversity and inclusion in the spirit space and committed to focus on supporting the increase of diverse talent in leadership. Diversity Distilled is a bottom-up and top-down approach to “advise, advocate and craft unique strategies to address the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of brands — with a focus on the world of distilled spirits, packaged beverages and the alcohol and service industries.”
According to Neilsen Black Americans spend over 1 trillion dollars a year. Being a part of a neglected target market, I can attest that many Black Americans like nice things, can afford nice things, and buy nice things. Though we cannot buy things we do not know exist. The Black community are not only consumers, but also influencers. Brands must recognize the smart move, the best, and the only move for growth is to include those customers who have traditionally been ignored in marketing plans going forward. In 2019, Adobe conducted a research report of more than 2,000 consumers. Their results showed that 66% of African-Americans feel their ethnicity is portrayed stereotypically in advertisements. With groups like BBS I am hopeful that brands and the Black community will continue to form bonds, build relationships, and create authentic content that speaks to the community.
Celebrate 30 days of Bourbon in September with BBS. If you’re a bourbon or whiskey enthusiast join the Facebook group, and with the premium membership you receive a wide variety of perks, including first notice about the next BBS Private Selection. BBS has ambassadors across the country. The Black Bourbon Society has let the world in on the not so secret secret that the Black community appreciates fine whiskeys and bourbons just like everyone else. Be a part of building the community and changing the narrative.
Discover more from Flights and Foods
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
5,048 Comments
Case sou smile
When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
Kit Implante Fraturado
Hey! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when viewing from my iphone 4. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to fix this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share. Many thanks!
갤럭시가라오케
I simply couldn’t leave your website prior to suggesting that I actually loved the usual info a person supply in your visitors? Is going to be again frequently in order to check up on new posts.
갤럭시가라오케
I’m really impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one nowadays..
homestay idukki
Absolutely pent subject matter, thanks for information. “He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.” by Michel de Montaigne.
slot resmi
Greetings from California! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to browse your site on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, very good site!
homestay idukki
Whats Happening i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It positively useful and it has helped me out loads. I am hoping to contribute & help different users like its aided me. Good job.
assistência técnica ar condicionado electrolux em sp
I like what you guys are up too. Such smart work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site 🙂
ibo iptv ativação
I like what you guys are up also. Such smart work and reporting! Carry on the excellent works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site 🙂
bingo plus
Bingo Plus update download means downloading the latest version of the app to receive performance improvements and feature updates.
강남도파민
I was just searching for this information for some time. After 6 hours of continuous Googleing, at last I got it in your web site. I wonder what is the lack of Google strategy that do not rank this type of informative sites in top of the list. Usually the top sites are full of garbage.
revenda iptv
I don’t even know how I finished up here, but I believed this publish was once good. I do not realize who you might be but definitely you are going to a well-known blogger when you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!
pcxwin
Thank you for every other informative website. Where else could I get that type of info written in such an ideal means? I’ve a mission that I’m simply now running on, and I’ve been at the look out for such info.
linetogel
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.
lokalne
As soon as I found this web site I went on reddit to share some of the love with them.
kilat333
Whats up very nice site!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds also…I’m glad to search out a lot of useful info here within the publish, we want work out more techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing.
recarga unitv oficial
Nearly all of whatever you point out is supprisingly accurate and that makes me wonder why I hadn’t looked at this with this light previously. This particular article really did switch the light on for me as far as this issue goes. But there is actually 1 factor I am not necessarily too comfy with so while I attempt to reconcile that with the actual main theme of the issue, allow me see exactly what all the rest of your visitors have to point out.Very well done.
recarga unitv trimestral
Hola! I’ve been following your web site for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Huffman Texas! Just wanted to say keep up the excellent work!
melhor assinatura para tv box
Thanks for your entire work on this web page. Kate take interest in making time for research and it’s really easy to see why. I learn all regarding the compelling ways you produce very important thoughts via this web site and as well as recommend contribution from some other people on the area of interest and our favorite princess is now studying a whole lot. Have fun with the remaining portion of the new year. You’re doing a first class job.
seoul outcall
I’ve read some excellent stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot effort you place to make this type of great informative website.