This Sunday night is the 57th annual Grammy Awards. The awards are hosted by LL Cool J for the fourth consecutive year. LL Cool J is well known for having a lot of seemingly random letters in his name, his song “Mama Said Knock You Out” and his tour de force role as the chef in Deep Blue Sea. He’s also well known for living an ultra-healthy lifestyle that doesn’t really leave room for imbibing any alcohol.
This isn’t the case for every musician, though. The clichés are true. Some musicians take partying and drinking a little farther than they should. Rock and roll has a long history of being a non-stop party with little to no self control.
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That doesn’t mean that there aren’t musicians out there doing it the right way. Some musicians even take it one step further and attach themselves to a particular alcohol brand. Whether they own the company or just endorse it, musicians and alcohol make sense together. It’s no secret that listening to great music is enhanced by a delicious cocktail, beer or glass of wine.
Sean Combs
I’m not cool enough to know what nickname Sean Combs is going by these days. It’s either Puff-Daddy P-Diddy or Diddy. Either way, Diddy is the band ambassador for Ciroc Vodka. When he signed on in 2007, the company was struggling in a big way. They were only selling around 40,000 cases per year. Since then, Ciroc has gone on to become the second highest selling ultra premium vodka in the world. I’m sure the added sales had nothing to do with better branding and marketing and everything to do with the partnership with Diddy.
Sammy Hagar
The former front man for Van Halen and the singer of “I Can’t Drive 55” spent more than a decade pitching his Cabo Wabo Tequila named for the Mexican tourist town of Cabo San Lucas. He sold 80% of the company to Campari in 2007, but that didn’t close the door on the world of spirits for Hagar. Named for Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill in the Maui Airport (and various other locations), Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum is a premium silver rum made from Hawaiian sugar cane.
Jay-Z
Famed rapper Jay-Z endorses Bacardi’s D’USSE Cognac. The spirit is aged in the cellars of France’s Chateau de Cognac for at least four and a half years. This creates a unique, full-flavored dark, brown liquid. I’m no expert on Cognac, but if it was good enough for “The Ladies Man” Leon Phelps, it’s good enough for me.
Fergie
The Black Eyed Peas singer enjoys a vodka based cocktail every now and again. This is why in 2012, she became a partner and part-owner of Voli Light Vodka. The vodka is touted as the world’s first low-calorie vodka. To be honest, I assumed all vodka was fairly low alcohol. But what do I know?
Marilyn Manson
Not surprisingly, the spooky, gothic Manson has his own absinthe. Mansinthe is a completely natural absinthe that is made with anise, fennel, herbs and vermouth. Made in Switzerland, Mansinthe is as unique as the rocker himself.
Hanson
The band of brothers (not affiliated with the HBO miniseries) known as Hanson in the epitome of the one-hit-wonder. Their lone success was with 1996’s ”Mmmbop”, one of the catchiest, most annoying songs to ever be recorded. They never had commercial success after that and are all grown up, fairly normal guys now. Recently, they decided to try their hand in the world of craft brewing. They started Hanson Brother Beer Company a few years ago. Their first and most famous beer is not surprisingly called Mmmhops.
Justin Timberlake
Besides “bringing sexy back”, the former member of ‘NSYNC recently joined the Sauza Tequila team to launch Sauza 901 Super-Premium Tequila. Timberlake, named the tequila for the area code in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee as well as the time when the night starts to get interesting. “901 is when the evening ends and the night begins,” says Timberlake. The triple distilled tequila came to be because of Timberlake’s love of the agave based spirit. He fell in love with the drink during a trip to the tequila Mecca of Jalisco, Mexico. He decided then and there that he wanted to be a part of the tequila culture.
Dave Matthews
The front man for Dave Matthews Band is the spokesman and co-founder of California’s Dreaming Tree Wines. Matthews already owned a winery in his native Virginia before deciding to team up with veteran winemaker Steve Reeder. Wines include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and two wines named after Dave Matthews Band albums (Every Day and Crush). It’s no surprise that Matthews decided to make wine. He’s well known as one of the mellowest musicians working today. What better way to relax than a nice glass of wine?
Perry Farrell
The Jane’s Addiction front man turned EDM DJ really loves tequila. He enjoys it so much that he decided to become the face of Maestro Dobel Tequila. The ultra premium tequila was named after founder Juan-Domingo “Dobel” Beckmann. The is an eleventh-generation tequila maker collaborated with tequila “Maestros” Marco Anguiano and Luis Yerenas in 2008 to create Maestro Dobel.
Related: Jane’s Addition Front Man Perry Farrell Talks Maestro Dobel Tequila
Maestro Dobel even created a couple cocktails for the Grammy’s:
Stay With Me (Sam Smith)
- 2 oz. Maestro Dobel Tequila
- 1 part Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 part Agave Nectar
Rim with black sea salt and serve in a rocks glass.
The Winner
- 2 oz. Maestro Dobel Tequila
- 3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
- .5 oz. Simply Syrup
- Sparkling wine
Combine Maestro Dobel, lemon Juice, simple syrup over ice in cocktail shaker. Strain and serve in champagne flute or coupe glass and top with sparkling wine.
Not all musicians have to settle with simply endorsing alcoholic drinks, some are iconic enough to have drinks named after them. The Darkroom in Hollywood recently partnered with Rock Paper Photo, an online gallery for fine art music photography to curate an exhibit on Bob Dylan. It was designed to aling with his Grammy’s Musicares honor. As part of the exhibition, the gallery created a Bob Dylan based cocktail menu utilizing rye whiskey. The drinks include “Tangled Up in Blue” with rye, blueberry-mint syrup, and lemon “Seven Curses” with Ancho-infused rye, and Aztec Chocolate Bitters, and a Guinness-infused sugar cube, “Oxford Town” with vanilla/clove-infused rye, agave, and a pear cinnamon cider and “Blood on the Tracks” with rye, maraschino liqueur, dry vermouth, and a cabernet-reduction wash.
