Rapper Drake to launch own whiskey

Drake is preparing to launch his own whiskey brand, following in the footsteps of drinks entrepreneurs Puff Daddy, Ludacris and Jay-Z.

The rapper posted a teasing message on Instagram announcing the new whiskey (Photo: Creative Commons)

The rapper posted a message to his Instagram yesterday announcing the imminent launch of “Virginia Black Whiskey”. Information on the new brand is decidedly vague, with the rapper giving only an email address as a point of contact beneath its assumed logo.

Drake captioned the brand’s logo with the similarly vague: “After that legendary moment what else is there to do but celebrate with class. Virginia Black coming soon…”

Born Aubrey Drake Graham, Drake is a Grammy award-winning Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. His first studio album, Thank Me Later, debuted in 2010 at number one on the Billboard 200.

With the launch of Virginia Black, Drake will join a long line of rappers to step into the drinks industry. Puff Daddy, formerly P Diddy, has an association with CÎROC vodka and owns DeLeón Tequila and Jay-Z owns Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Champagne. Ludacris launched his own Cognac brand, Conjure, in 2009, while last year Snoop Dogg backed Cuca Fresca – a premium artisanal Brazilian cachaça.

While stepping into the drinks trade is a popular route for rappers, here Dan Miles, author of Filthy Still – a tale of travel, sex and perfectly made cocktails – gives seven reasons why rappers shouldn’t pimp drinks brands.

After that legendary moment what else is there to do but celebrate with class. Virginia Black coming soon…

A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Feb 13, 2016 at 8:12pm PST

Correction (15/02/16): A previous version of this story said that Drake is from the United States. He is in fact Canadian.