WHY WE CHOSE RUM, AND WHY WE’RE BETTING ON A NEW ERA FOR SPIRITS

The spirits industry is one of the most protected and competitive consumer landscapes in the world. It’s run by titans like Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and Bacardi. These companies dictate what ends up on the shelves, what bars pour, and what consumers are told to drink. Yet behind the polished bottles and multi-million-dollar ad campaigns, the industry has stagnated.

When you walk into a bar today, most people can name three or four rum brands. And that’s telling. Vodka has had its Grey Goose moment. Tequila has enjoyed a renaissance powered by celebrity-backed names like 818 and Casamigos. But rum? Rum has remained boxed into its clichés — pirates, Caribbean sunsets, and sugary cocktails — while being largely ignored in the premium conversation.

That was our signal.

WHY SPIRITS, WHY NOW

Before SOIRÉ, I spent years in nightlife, entertainment, and brand building. I saw firsthand how consumer demand was shifting. Young audiences didn’t want another faceless bottle. They wanted identity, culture, and connection. They wanted brands that showed up where they are — on social, at events, in digital spaces.

At the same time, a wave of disruptive consumer brands was reshaping the CPG world. Poppi turned soda into a wellness statement. PrettyLittleThing made fast fashion into a culture. 818 showed what happens when you tie social distribution to spirits. These weren’t just product-led companies — they were purpose-led communities. That’s what inspired us to bet on spirits, and more specifically, on rum.

WHY RUM?

Rum is one of the oldest categories in spirits, with a history tied to trade, colonization, and culture. Yet the category has failed to evolve at the pace of consumer expectations. Bacardi dominates in scale. Captain Morgan dominates in kitsch. But who is leading rum into the modern era? Who is building a rum brand that feels premium, connected, and cultural?

We didn’t see one. So we built one.

We partnered with EA Scheer, the world’s #1 rum blender (established in 1712, sourcing from Trinidad, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic). We designed a bottle that doesn’t feel like “Caribbean nostalgia,” but instead like a statement piece on the shelf. We engineered every detail for authenticity and modernity, including NFC-enabled bases that let consumers verify, collect, and connect digitally with their bottle.

For us, rum is the perfect storm: underappreciated, underrepresented, and waiting to be redefined.

WEB3, NFC, AND THE FUTURE OF EXPERIENCES

The past few years taught us that digital objects alone — NFTs, profile pics, purely online assets — can create value, but they often lack staying power. What happens when you marry that digital ethos with something physical? With something consumable, experiential, and social?

That’s the question SOIRÉ answers.

Our bottles are scannable, authenticated, and digitally integrated. They don’t just sit on shelves — they unlock worlds. Limited drops, event access, cultural collaborations, collector markets. In short, we’re setting a new standard where IRL and URL are no longer separate, but intertwined.

SOCIAL DISTRIBUTION IS THE NEW SUPPLY CHAIN

Legacy liquor brands still believe distribution is about locking down a wholesaler and flooding retail shelves. That’s necessary, but it’s not enough. Today, influence and cultural currency drive sales. Ambassadors, communities, and creators are the modern supply chain.

We’ve seen it across industries: Poppi, Celsius, Fashion Nova. Brands built on word-of-mouth, amplified by communities who felt ownership in their success. Spirits is no different. If anything, it’s the ultimate category for community-first growth — because every bottle sold isn’t just consumed, it’s shared.

SOIRÉ was built to thrive in that ecosystem.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY

Sydney Frank, the man behind Grey Goose and Jägermeister, understood something most didn’t: spirits aren’t sold on liquid, they’re sold on brand. Grey Goose became synonymous with luxury vodka because it wasn’t afraid to overdeliver on perception, positioning, and aspiration.

We’ve studied that playbook, but we’re applying it to the modern consumer. A generation that cares about design, cultural relevance, authenticity, and access. A generation that doesn’t just want to drink, but to be part of a world.

THE HARD TRUTHS OF BUILDING SOIRÉ

Building a spirits brand isn’t glamorous. It means navigating licensing, regulations, and compliance before you ever sell a drop. It means sourcing product globally, designing from scratch, and taking the risk of putting six figures of personal capital into the vision before anyone else sees it.

We did this as a founder-led brand, not a celebrity-backed one. We went through setbacks, bottler changes, label disputes, and funding gaps. We had to pitch to venues before product even hit shelves. And yet, every hurdle reinforced the mission: that SOIRÉ exists to challenge and change the industry.

THE WORLD WE’RE BUILDING

At its core, SOIRÉ isn’t just about a bottle of rum. It’s about a world. A world of curated experiences, cultural moments, and digital-physical connection. A world that values authenticity, creativity, and community. A world where the next generation of consumers can see themselves reflected in spirits, not just sold to.

Rum is only the beginning.