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
monas77
Wohh precisely what I was searching for, thanks for putting up.
hitam138
I don’t usually comment but I gotta admit regards for the post on this perfect one :D.
luxury333
Merely a smiling visitor here to share the love (:, btw great style and design.
qqmacan
You have noted very interesting points! ps decent internet site.
luxury333
I’ve recently started a blog, the info you provide on this web site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.
adquirir recarga
An impressive share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing a bit evaluation on this. And he in reality bought me breakfast because I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If potential, as you grow to be expertise, would you thoughts updating your weblog with extra details? It is highly useful for me. Big thumb up for this weblog put up!
mpo555
Have you ever thought about creating an ebook or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog centered on the same ideas you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my viewers would value your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e-mail.
gsc108
Really clean site, appreciate it for this post.
link gacor
Just desire to say your article is as amazing. The clearness in your post is simply nice and i could assume you are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the enjoyable work.
Jelly Lean
magnificent submit, very informative. I ponder why the opposite experts of this sector don’t understand this. You must continue your writing. I’m confident, you’ve a great readers’ base already!
Jelly Lean Review
you’re in reality a good webmaster. The site loading pace is incredible. It seems that you’re doing any distinctive trick. Also, The contents are masterwork. you have done a fantastic task on this subject!
toyota99
Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
Gelatin Trick
With everything which appears to be building throughout this particular area, your perspectives are actually quite exciting. Nevertheless, I am sorry, because I can not subscribe to your whole plan, all be it radical none the less. It seems to everybody that your commentary are actually not entirely validated and in simple fact you are generally yourself not totally certain of your assertion. In any case I did take pleasure in reading it.
Gelatin Trick
Greetings from Los angeles! 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 surprised at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, excellent site!
streaming animes Brasil
I delight in, result in I found exactly what I was looking for. You have ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
consultoria tributária
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post. Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks!
Pajak Penghasilan
I’ve recently started a site, the information you provide on this web site has helped me tremendously. Thanks for all of your time & work.
wordpress website
Hi there this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
savory collagen jello recipe
Just wanna say that this is very useful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
jago22
In this awesome design of things you actually secure a B+ with regard to effort and hard work. Where you actually misplaced us ended up being on your specifics. As as the maxim goes, the devil is in the details… And it could not be more accurate here. Having said that, permit me inform you what exactly did do the job. Your authoring is certainly quite persuasive and that is possibly the reason why I am taking the effort to comment. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. Next, despite the fact that I can see the leaps in reasoning you make, I am not sure of exactly how you appear to connect your ideas which inturn help to make the actual conclusion. For now I will, no doubt yield to your point however wish in the near future you actually connect your facts much better.