Julia Gin Isn’t Just Poured, It’s Inherited

Spirits have always carried stories. Some are about tradition, some about luxury, but Julia Gin feels different. Distilled in New York with botanicals sourced from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, it moves like the diaspora itself: crossing borders, carrying memory, reshaping forms wherever it lands.

Julia Gin belongs in the same breath as music, food, and art that trace those routes. Think West African rhythms spun into jazz, reggae, hip-hop, and Afrobeats. It is not just a drink, but migration made tangible, something you can pour, taste, and share.

We sat down with Julia Alexandria Stanley, co-founder of Julia Gin, to talk about botanicals that carry resistance, the women who inspired its name, and why spirits can be more than nightlife.

Julia Gin carries the story of the diaspora. Where outside the spirits world do you most see that story belonging?

Music. From West Africa to the Caribbean to America, our rhythms became jazz, reggae, hip-hop, and Afrobeats. It is the same story as our botanicals: seeds of creativity planted across continents, taking root in new soil while keeping their essential pulse.

Your botanicals each carry history as well as flavor. Which feels closest to you?

The Ethiopian white peppercorn. Ethiopia, one of the few African nations never fully colonized, became a beacon of hope for the diaspora. Its influence flowed into Jamaica, where my family is from, then into Black Power movements in America. That journey mirrors our people’s resilience,  rooted in African soil yet expressed differently everywhere it lands.

You’ve called gin an art form. If Julia Gin were expressed in another medium, what would capture its spirit best?

Something like a Tavares Strachan installation: bold, impossible to ignore, making the invisible visible in spaces that once excluded our narratives.

The spirits world has not always felt inclusive. What did you want Julia Gin to change? 

We wanted to shatter the myth that premium spirits aren’t for us. The diaspora has shaped every corner of culture yet has been treated as an afterthought. Julia Gin is for anyone who knows their heritage deserves premium recognition.

When someone pours Julia Gin, what kind of moment do you hope it creates?

Moments of celebration. Toasting achievements our ancestors only dreamed of. Sitting with chosen family, tasting excellence, and knowing you belong.

The brand draws from fearless women of the diaspora. Who comes to mind for you?

My grandmother, my Oma. Born in Jamaica in 1932, she is 93 and still thriving. When I was diagnosed with cancer at age two, she uprooted her life to care for my sister so my parents could focus on me. That kind of fearless love runs through Julia Gin: adapting without losing your essence.

If Julia Gin could live beyond the bottle, what would that look like?

A collaboration with Sade. Imagine experiences where each botanical’s story unfolds through soundscapes honoring the women who inspire us. Timeless, immediate, rooted in our past yet speaking to everyone.