If you’re a connoisseur of craft beer and fine spirits, chances are you’ve placed a Drizly order—or a hundred. Now, discerning imbibers have the opportunities to sip a bit more consciously thanks to a new program called “Sip with Purpose” that Drizly announced this week to support historically underrepresented groups in the alcoholic beverage industry.
To bolster these companies, Drizly has launched one centralized hub on the platform where consumers can learn more about and shop from AAPI-, Black-, Hispanic-, Latinx-, LGBTQIA-, Native-American- and woman-owned brands.
Along with the hub, Drizly will make a $4 million media commitment to raise awareness of these brands, as well as the launch of Drizly’s Brand Accelerator Program, where three brands will be selected to access training, insights, mentorship, relationships, exposure, and more to help drive equity within the beverage alcohol industry (companies interested in applying can do so here).
“Drizly’s ‘Sip with Purpose’ initiative is an important step forward as we continue to invest in efforts to drive equity in the beverage alcohol industry. We recognize our unique position in the BevAlc industry, and our responsibility to drive and inspire change,” says Drizly CEO Cory Rellas. “We look forward to exposing more consumers to the many incredible brands owned by members of historically underrepresented groups through our $4M media commitment, newly launched brand accelerator program and introduction of new ways to shop these brands on our platform year-round.”
A random assortment from the mix of these brands includes Union Craft Brewing (Black-owned), Urban Growler (LGBTQIA-owned, Lost Coast Brewery (Women-owned), Highland Brewing (AAPI-owned) Uncle Nearest (Black- and woman-owned), Brough Brothers (Black-owned) McBride Sisters Collection (Black- and woman-owned), Teremana (AAPI-owned), Makku (AAPI-owned), and FICKS (Hispanic-owned).
On the beer front, we’re particularly excited about Union Craft Brewing, located within the Union Collective business hub in the Medfield neighborhood of Baltimore, MD, that creates a steady pipeline of “beers that unite old and new ideas” (just wait until you try their Duckpin Pale Ale); Highland Brewing, founded in 1994 by a retired engineer and the first legal brewery in Asheville, NC, since Prohibition; and Urban Growler, which opened in Minnesota in 2014 as the first woman-owned brewery in the state after 12 banks denied them funding.
In terms of spirits, some of our go-tos include Uncle Nearest, a whiskey Double Gold winner for the past three years at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, out of Shelbyville, TN; Makku, a brand that churns out makgeolli, a traditional Korean unfiltered rice beer; and Brough Brothers, Kentucky’s first African-American owned distillery, headquartered in Louisville, KY.
Whether you’re hosting a party or just looking to discover new favorites, be sure to stock your cart with some of these stellar makers next time you hit up Drizly.
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