Black-Owned, Locally Distilled Vodka with Charitable Bent Launches on Juneteenth

Black-Owned, Locally Distilled Vodka with Charitable Bent Launches on Juneteenth

Ron Lockett II, Rasheedah Polk, Michael Williams and Eugene Padgett

THERE’S A NEW vodka in town.

General Orders No. 3 (GO3) is a Black-owned premium vodka distilled in Houston’s Fifth Ward. It launches on Saturday, June 18, during the Juneteenth HBCU Alliance Music Fest, a concert and scholarship benefit at 713 Music Hall. The concert features performances by Nigerian-American rapper Wale, Grammy-winning R&B singer Chrisette Michele, British pop singer Aiyana-Lee, and others; proceeds benefit TSU and Prairie View A&M University.

Founded by 10 African-American entrepreneurs and friends, GO3 is rooted in the celebration of freedom and diversity. The name homages the name of the document read on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, which declared the institution of slavery had officially ended.

Smooth and sophisticated, GO3 is made from a proprietary mix of Texas sweet corn, sweet potatoes, and russet potatoes infused with pure glacial melt from the Teton Mountains of southeastern Idaho. The vodka offers a rich blend and full-bodied flavor with buttery notes and a hint of caramel.

“We are from Houston, and wanted to make sure our story and product tied us to the Houston area,” co-founder Ron Lockett II tells CityBook. “It's important for us to not only have our business right here in Houston, but to be able to give back to the communities where we reside and do business." To ensure opportunities for success exist for institutions that foster and support freedom, equality, education and economic freedom, GO3 Vodka will donate a percentage of all sales to historically Black colleges and universities.

Houstonians can order GO3 at Permission Whiskey and Bar 5015, and purchase bottles at Bottles and the Bellaire and Gessner outposts of Andrew Liquor.

Food
Thrive & Inspire: ‘Results for Clients’ in Oil and Gas Drives Michelman & Robinson’s Varnado

Lauren Varnado, Houston Office Managing Partner at Michelman & Robinson, LLP and sought-after oil and gas lawyer

WHAT WAS THE highlight of 2022 at your business? That’s easy, launching Michelman & Robinson in Houston was, for me, the absolute high point of 2022 — and that’s in a year that included so many highlights. Without question, being named the firm’s Houston Office Managing Partner is and was a professional milestone that I’m so very proud of. That I’ve already been able to expand the office to 10 of us (and growing) and significantly move the needle in terms of the firm’s reach within the energy space is icing on the cake.

Keep Reading Show less

Bill Viola’s ‘Ascension,’ on display as part of ‘Living with the Gods’ at MFAH

THE ARTIST WHO ushered in the expressionist movement in the early 20th century was not, in fact, Picasso or Matisse. It was Paul Gauguin, whose career spanned the decades just preceding the turn of the century. The French painter is the subject of the Museum of Fine Arts’ latest exhibit, Gauguin in the World, which was organized by Henri Loyrette (formerly of the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris). The show, just one of the museum’s diverse winter season shows, debuted in Australia in June and will be on display through Feb. 16, 2025, at the MFAH, the only U.S. venue for the survey.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

Cirque du Soleil's 'Echo'


Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment