Drink the Rainbow With These LGBTQ+ Beverage Brands

Stereotypically speaking, LGBTQ+ people have a reputation for being trend setters. From bringing drag culture into the mainstream (hello, RuPaul’s Drag Race!) to straight dudes in shorty-shorts, queer influence reaches all corners of society. Alcoholic beverages (and zero-proof alternatives) also have their cycles of popularity from the dive-iest gay bars to high-energy nightclubs. 

One of the most popular mixed queer drinks of all time is the humble vodka soda, typically served with a tiny wedge of lime. 

The simple concoction has become so synonymous with gay culture that Spencer Hoddeson founded a ready-to-drink company and named it Gay Water, a nod to the colloquialism that emerged to describe the ubiquitous queer-bar drink. “Not because it’s glamorous, but because it’s everywhere,” he says. “It’s a cultural artifact: low-cal, high-visibility and highly functional in a crowded gay bar. And it doesn’t leave a stain if spilled.”

While Hoddeson’s RTD may be one of the celebratory and cheekiest queer brands on the market—though, there is a Gay Beer, as well—he’s far from alone. These days, there are a growing slew of brands that make it easier to jump on the gay cocktail bandwagon without leaving home.

Former Bartender Jake Graves has watched the tides of queer adult beverages ebb and flow over the years. “In my early bartending days, the Cosmopolitan strutted into queer cocktail royalty,” he says. “This shifted as we moved away from sweet drinks.”

To better cater to changing palates, Graves founded small-batch mixer company The Twisted Botanist. It offers herbal- and botanically-inspired blends for home bartenders seeking easy-to-make well-balanced cocktails and mocktails.

For folks who want to keep their at-home drinks in the family, these mixers can be shaken with Supergay Spirits (another brand), various vodka that support queer-centered nonprofits and more.

So, in celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, we rounded up some of the top beverage brands that were either founded by or support members of the queer community. From gay water and beer to cannabis drinks and NA mixers, these brands burst with Pride. 

Twisted Botanist

This gay-owned, Arizona-based mixer company utilizes all-natural ingredients, real herbs and florals to infuse their products. Twisted Botanist’s offerings include red and white sangria infusion kits and cocktail mixers in flavors such as raspberry-hibiscus, peach-mint and prickly pear-jalapeño, making it easy for home bartenders to quickly and easily create bar-quality cocktails. The company sponsors Pride events in Arizona and also donates to queer organizations, including one·n·ten for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.

Tom of Finland Organic Vodka

 Tom of Finland gained fame for his signature style of art that celebrated masculinity and its intersection with gay culture from the late 1950s until his death in 1991. Proceeds from every purchase of this 100% organic with zero added sugars goes to Tom of Finland Foundation. Established in 1984 by Tom (born Touko Laaksonen) and his friend Durk Dehner, the non-profit aims to preserve the artist’s catalogue of work and educate the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art, promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes towards sexuality. 

Supergay Spirits

“Farm to disco spirits” captures the whimsical nature of Supergay Spirits, as if the name itself didn’t already give that away. The current lineup includes Supergay Vodka, Supergay Fire Island Dry Gin and Two Fruits canned cocktails which include a Cosmo and Ginger Mule option. The company is queer-owned and gives a portion of profits to LGBTQ+ organizations.

Gay Beer

You can now purchase Brooklyn-based Gay Beer in 45 states, solidifying the brand as a national mainstay. Self-described avid beer drinkers and members of the queer community Jason Pazmino and Jon Moore founded the company to bring gay representation to the beverage aisle. The beer itself is light-bodied and made from Vienna Malt and Mandarina Hops. The company donates a portion of its profits to six different LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. 

Gay Water

As the name suggests, Gay Water is a vodka soda—but in a can. The 12-ounce, low-alcohol, 80-calorie RTD is available in four flavors: lime, grapefruit, watermelon and peach. The gay-owned business regularly partners with LGBTQ+ organizations, including Human Rights Campaign and Stonewall Community Foundation, donating Gay Water to events that raise awareness for LGBTQ+ issues. 

Remy Wines

Founded by queer winemaker Remy Drabkin, Remy Wines showcases Old World styles utilizing grapes from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Order them for shipment or visit her tasting room next time you’re in the region. One significant way she gives back to the community is through the annual Queer Wine Fest, one of the best LGTBQ+ food, wine and spirits fests in the U.S. 

Equality Vodka

Co-founded by two allies of the LGBTQ+ community, Equality Vodka has a clear goal to give back. The ultra-premium vodka donates 20% of the gross profits to LGBTQ+ organizations fighting for equality. Befitting their name, their movement is called Cocktailing with a Cause, which furthers the company’s mission to “create a future that knows no discrimination—just equality.”

Cann

Co-founders Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson lead the alcohol alternative Cann as a queer-founded brand rooted in inclusivity and community. Each of their products—both ready-to-drink and liquid mixers you can add to seltzer or any beverage—contains a low-dose combination of THC and CBD for an effect similar to a glass of wine or light beer sans actual booze.

Terah Wine Co. 

Terah Bajjalieh started her eponymous low-intervention brand, Terah Wine Co., in a friend’s garage in 2020. Over the past half-decade, she’s grown substantially, from just 120 cases that first year to around 1,500 annually. 

Her wines speak for themself, but as a queer woman of color, Bajjalieh also uses the brand to give voice to underrepresented communities. In April 2024, she was invited by the U.S. State Department to pour her wines for diplomats and embassy ambassadors for an Arab American Heritage Month event in Washington, D.C. 

And she regularly supports a range of LGBTQ+ and allied organizations each year through wine donations, in-kind support and participation in events. This year alone, she’s contributed to Wine Flair, a series of wine tastings featuring queer natural winemakers (which also raises funds for events in more rural areas that support LGBTQ+ communities that live under “draconian, oppressive policies”); LGBTQ+ focused scholarship fund The Point Foundation; Pacifica Pride and Equality Wine Fest in Palm Springs.

More LGBTQIA+ Coverage

• Inside Sonoma’s thriving LGBTQ+ wine scene.
• What it’s like to open a lesbian bar in 2023.
• LGBTQ-owned and -led distilleries to support all year long.
• Brewers release special beers to celebrate Pride Month.
• Before Stonewall, there was Julius’, NYC’s oldest gay bar.
• Three LGBTQ+ wine pros making a more inclusive industry.

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