You thought you’d seen the last of The Best Man crew, huh?
Well, you couldn’t have been more wrong.
According to Essence, the fellas from the hit film are teaming up again – no, not for another sequel – this time, the crew is coming together for a new and exciting venture.
Enter Sable: an upscale, rich, and surprisingly accessible bourbon brand, which, as Harold Perrineau (who portrays Julian Murch in the film franchise) told Essence, was born out of “natural curiosity and pure selfishness.”
According to their website, Sable is a joint spirits venture between Harold Perrineau, Morris Chestnut (who portrays our favorite heartthrob Lance Sullivan), Taye Diggs (the ever-so-charming Harper Stewart), and Malcolm D. Lee (the talented writer and director behind The Best Man series).
How Sable Came to Be
The idea took root in Perrineau’s desire to keep collaborating with his co-stars.
“My wife and I met this company, Bespoken, and we were super interested in the way they did spirits,” he explained.
Bespoken Spirits, as described on its website, is a whiskey company that uses proprietary technology to accelerate the maturation process and tailor the color, aroma, and taste of its products.
“They’re also very earth-conscious,” continued Perrineau, whose other acting credits include Lost, The Rookie, and From.
“And when we were finishing The Best Man: The Final Chapters, I personally didn’t want to stop working with them, so I asked everybody if they would be interested in doing a spirit together.”
Lee and Chestnut jumped on board immediately, but Diggs admitted he had some reservations.
“I’ve never been one to embark on new projects and step out of my comfort zones and start a business, but it just felt right,” the actor, who plays up-and-coming author Harper Stewart shared.
Especially “when you take the relationship that we’ve all had with The Best Man series and what’s happening in the world of spirits,” he continued seemingly referencing Black-woman-owned whiskey brand Uncle Nearest’s success, “and us being mature Black men. I just kind of followed my gut.”
And while bringing Sable to life has been a learning journey, it’s also been surprisingly intuitive, say the men behind the brand.
The final product—a blend primarily of corn, rye, and malted barley—boasts rich notes of burnt sugar, dense mocha, and dark fudge.
“It’s been a smooth process,” Lee shared. “We agreed on everything: the flavor profile, the bottle, the imagery, the lettering, the color, the pattern—all of it came together easily.”
Choosing the name was just as effortless.
“I don’t think we knew at the time that Sable meant black, but it certainly connotes Black and classy,” the phenomenal director continued.
“It’s sleek and smooth, and there’s an upscale aspect to it. My messaging, that I think we all agreed upon, about what we’re gonna do with this bourbon is that it feels aspirational, upscale, but accessible just like The Best Man movies do.”
And The Future Plans For Sable?
The brand launched in August and Perrineau shared that he and the fellas have only done one in-store bottle signing thus far.
However, the group is looking forward to reaching more consumers through events, and of course their films.
“We’re really just learning what people are liking. We’re really in an information-gathering time,” the 61-year-old 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 went on to highlight the unique position they’re in, noting, “There’s not a lot of Black men in this space at all, and we have an audience that’s so great with us, so loyal and trusts us, and we also have a real trust in each other,”
He added, “People have been really receptive to it. We really picked a beautiful product. The drink is great, the bottle is sexy, and it all just works.”
He also plans on taking bourbon certification courses alongside fellow Lost and The Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder.
Somerhalder, who also owns a whiskey brand called Brother’s Bond, launched the brand after forming a friendship with co-star Paul Wesley on the set of their hit series The Vampire Diaries.
Perrineau is also excited to experiment with new cocktails over Thanksgiving as well as trying new expressions of the bourbon.
“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 explained. “I’m really interested in trying [Beyoncé’s new American whiskey brand] Sir Davis, I know that [basketball player] Steph Curry has Gentleman’s Cut.”
But while Sable fits into the growing, yet still niche, category of Black-owned bourbon brands, Perrineau sees the brand’s story, much like The Best Man, as one with broad appeal.
“When we started Sable, we recognized that we’re gonna get a really large African-American audience, and that’s what we want,” he explained.
“But we are all so wildly American. 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.”
In the meantime, Perrineau plans on leveraging Sable to get another sequel out of Lee.
“We’re going to get Malcolm drunk and make him write a drunk version of a new show,” he joked before adding a sobering reality about their new venture together. “This is our next chapter.”
