Pour One with Brett Berish

With years of gut-guided and crazy-successful brand building under his belt, the mastermind behind some of hip hop’s biggest bottles shares why he believes culture connections with authenticity work.

WORDS Rashaun Hall

From Armand de Brignac Champagne (yes, the “Ace of Spades” one that recently sold to LVMH) to Bumbu Rum, Brett Berish has had a hand in crafting bottles that the elites of hip hop have popped for more than a decade. After a stint in banking, Berish launched Sovereign Brands in 1999 and hasn’t looked back since. With a current portfolio of wines and spirits across the spectrum—Luc Belaire sparkling wine, McQueen and the Violet Fog Gin, The Deacon Scotch Whisky, Bumbu Rum and Villon liqueur—Berish has brought world-wide recognition to his brands and made lasting partnerships along the way. Read on to learn more about his past successes and future projects.

How did you get into the spirits industry?

I was a late bloomer to the industry. I didn’t get into it until my thirties, but I grew up around the business. My dad worked for Jim Beam for 45 years. I like to say we’re third generation. My mom’s parents, my grandparents, were distributors in Madison, Wisconsin. If I was six years old and I invited you to my house for dinner, my dad would talk about liquor all day long. He had a tremendous passion for what he did. I’d love to say it translated into him saying, you guys should do this too, but it didn’t. I think your parents always want something easier for you, and he thought there was something easier out there for us.   

What inspired you to get into the business?

I’m an idea guy. I’ve always got ideas of things I want to do. And I always had ideas [for] the liquor industry. If you talk to my father, he’ll remember I was in high school and I wanted to do 100 percent agave tequila because no one was doing that, and he shot me down. Finally, I got sick of being the guy who’s always saying, “What do you think of this idea? What do you think of this idea?” I finally said I got to just go pick something. I’m one of those people that’s always afraid I’m going to pick the wrong one, therefore I didn’t pick anything. I said, I’m going to commit to this. I dropped everything and started the company, Sovereign Brands—named by my mother. It’s been 25 years, ups and downs. It has not been easy, but I’ve absolutely loved it!

What inspired your mother to come up with the name Sovereign?

Her parents, my grandparents, their [liquor and dry goods] distribution company [Simon Brothers] had a brand called Simon Pure. It was called Sovereign. I didn’t even know what the hell Sovereign meant. I looked it up and found it means “to be on your own,” to be on an island, to do your own thing. I thought, “Wow, this is it!” Everything has meaning to me. The fact that she shared that name with me, that’s how things connect the dots with me. My brands are the same way. There’s some inspiration that came in, whether it’s the name, the package, the design or the liquid. There’s some inspiration that came along, very organically and naturally, and that, that appeals to me.

What was Sovereign’s first product? 

My first brand, it doesn’t exist today, but it’s my most successful brand. The reason I say that is it taught me everything. I made tons of mistakes. It was a vodka distilled from soy. It was amazing! The branding was great. Everything was great. What I failed on is in many ways, I didn’t trust my instincts. If anybody’s going to fail, I want it to be me making that decision. There’s a lot of things I don’t do today because of that brand.

My brand Luc Belaire, when I introduced [it] to my distributors, they said, “You’re nuts. One, you’re launching a rosé, and you can’t do that.” In the Champagne category, you start with a brut, because that’s the big one. Then, you come back with a rosé or a demi-sec or blanc de blancs. And then they said, “You’re putting a rosé in a black bottle? You can’t do that. You got to see the liquid!” And then they didn’t like my price point because they didn’t think I could compete with the likes of Moët [et Chandon] and Veuve [Clicquot], etcetera. The younger Brett would’ve changed everything because I didn’t trust my instincts or why I was doing it. I’ll listen, and maybe there is an idea or something that I’ll pivot on, but for the most part, I want to be the one who screws it up. I want to be the guy who makes that wrong decision. To let other people make that decision for me, it was just a mistake.

That’s the same with all my brands. The one thing that all of them have in common is no one’s ever believed in them. It’s not going to work. Ace of Spades can’t compete with Dom [Pérignon], Krug and Cristal. When I launched my Bumbu rum brand: “Why are you doing that? Premium rum isn’t a thing.” I’m going to make it a thing. That’s why I’m doing it. I’m going to make it a big thing. And now, it’s a huge thing.

Let’s talk about the intersection of music and spirits. How did you come to make those connections?

For Luc Belaire, we’ve got a huge ambassador [in] Rick Ross. He loves Belaire. Everybody knows, everybody sees it. He’s now one of my closest friends. Belaire was out two years before Ross picked up a bottle. Belaire was in 50 countries before he even knew about it. Bumbu is in nearly 70 countries. Our biggest market outside the U.S. is Canada. No one from my company’s ever been there. Taste wins. If people like the taste, they gravitate towards it.

Celebrities don’t make brands. Brand makes brands. And if it’s good, celebrity is a good thing. I believe in organic brand building. I want to work with people who love, live and breathe our industry—who are supportive, who want to get involved, who want to do things. I don’t want it to be a transaction.

Rick, I’ve known 10-plus years now. Lil Wayne, I’ve known for years now, all because of Bumbu. Wiz Khalifa [I met] because he loves gin. I like working with people that are not mailing it in. I can’t fake how I feel about this. I want that same energy from other people. I think it can work then because it’s real.

Is that idea of organic brand building why we don’t see these artists used in traditional marketing?

I could rattle off 100 brands that have been celebrity backed or celebrity involved, and it doesn’t work. I’m in the business to create brands that in my categories are the best because they taste better. In the country of Latvia, which is less than 2 million people and has a small gross household income, rum is not a thing. However, we’re the number one rum and the fastest growing spirit in the country there. That’s because of the taste.

Anybody who can help you promote your brand is a “celebrity.” Having a conversation like this, if it impacts the brand, that’s a huge impact. That’s what I’m after. People that get what we’re doing and that these brands mean something. They’re like trophies. I’ve achieved something and there’s a connectivity. You feel you want to be involved with us. I just saw a picture of our local brand ambassadors in different states—15 guys came together on their own. I didn’t make that happen; they did that themselves. That’s passion!

The goal is lean in on what’s working, and you can always backfill. Sometimes, not having a plan is a good plan because you’re going to learn, you’re going to learn as you go. Most importantly, don’t expect it to happen fast. I expected it to happen quickly. God bless those that it does [happen for], but it didn’t [for me]. It’s not supposed to. Have patience. If you like what you do, you’ll get there.

Any chance you’re going to go back and do that 100 percent agave tequila?

I have plans in that space, but my biggest issue is I can’t just do anything. I did a tasting last night. I tasted five different tequilas from all the brands that everyone drinks, and I can’t tell the difference. It makes me think, “Jesus, I should just be drinking the cheaper brand. Because if you can’t tell the difference, why pay more?” I need a difference, and then I feel like it’s complete. It works because I have to believe in my own brands. I’m not in it for the money. I have to believe in these brands!