Best Man stars create Bourbon brand

After bonding over whiskey, four actors from The Best Man franchise entered the spirits world with the launch of Sable Bourbon in August.

Harold Perrineau, Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs and Malcolm D Lee first worked together on the 1999 film The Best Man, a wedding-set romantic comedy written and directed by Lee starring an all-Black cast. The film inspired a 2013 Christmas-themed sequel and a limited series in 2022 and as the cast reunited, a genuine camaraderie among the group, who, like their characters in the franchise, would bond over whiskey. “We'll just have one, and we'll sit and talk about what movies we're doing, we'll talk about the next day's work,” Perrineau said. The actor, who has appeared in television shows as Lost and Oz, was introduced to Bespoken Spirits, which uses alternative ageing techniques in the pursuit of sustainability. Inspired by brands like Tennessee whiskey Uncle Nearest, he brought the idea to the group, who were all on board. “I wanted to have a component of green, using less water, using less wood,” he said of Bespoken’s use of oak stave finishing. He likewise told the group, once they began tasting samples, to look for something that was drinkable. “So that was all they took from me. And throughout the tasting, when it was too harsh for them, they go like, ‘No, I can't'. And when we got to this one, everybody was like, ‘Oh, I could. I could drink that all night,” Perrineau said. Sable Bourbon is made from a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. It is bottled at 47% ABV and priced at US$60. On the nose, it shows notes of burnt sugar, pear compote, and allspice, while the palate brings mocha and dark chocolate fudge. The brand launched in August, and Perrineau says that he and the other actors have only done one in-store bottle signing so far but look forward to reaching more consumers through events and their films. “We're really just learning what people are liking. We're really in an information-gathering time,” Perrineau said. “We have some women who love Taye and Morris like, ‘Girl, I could taste the chocolate in all of it.’ You're like, ‘okay, okay’”. Perrineau says he and fellow Lost actor Ian Somerhalder are planning to take Bourbon certification courses together. Somerhalder also owns a whiskey brand, Brother’s Bond, which was similarly founded after he and co-star Paul Wesley formed a friendship on the set of The Vampire Diaries. Perrineau is likewise planning to test cocktails out with guests over Thanksgiving, and is enthusiastic to try new expressions. “Now when I drink Bourbon, I'm drinking more to compare, I'm comparing what I have, to what's out there, where we fit in the market,” he said. "I'm really interested in trying [Beyoncé's new American whiskey brand] SirDavis, I know that [basketball player] Steph Curry has Gentleman’s Cut.” While Sable does fit into a growing yet still small category of Black-owned spirits brands, Perrineau sees the story, much like that of The Best Man, as one with broader appeal. “When we started Sable, we recognised that we're gonna get a really large African-American audience, and that's what we want, but we are all so wildly American,” he said. “We speak to everybody because of all the work that we've done, and what we'd love to do, is build a really inclusive community. We have a great friendship, we have a great bond. We team up really well.” Earlier this year, Bespoken Spirits shifted its operations from San Francisco to a new US$3.2 million headquarters and manufacturing facility in Lexington, Kentucky.