From its dozens of “Real Housewives” iterations and spinoffs to “Summer House,” “Below Deck,” and more, Bravo provides an endless font of gossip and mess. And let’s face it: If loving reality TV is wrong, we don’t want to be right. Whether it’s one Gen X socialite throwing a drink at another while demanding she stay away from her husband, or another star being exposed for various white-collar crimes, we’ll be watching with rapt attention — likely with a drink in hand.
Speaking of drinks, they’re something the Bravoverse is quite familiar with. Just look at the sheer number of alcohol brands launched in the past decade by Bravolebrities (Bravo celebrities, if you’re new here). Seriously, so many get involved in the food and beverage space that it’s honestly hard to keep up. But just as quickly as these brands appear on our TV screens and social media feeds, they can vanish without a trace. Whatever happened to Sonja Morgan’s Tipsy Girl Prosecco? Or Ramona Singer’s Pinot Grigio? Countess Luann’s nonalcoholic rosé, the aptly named Fosé Rosé, allegedly sold out two years ago and hasn’t returned. Even finding Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz’s joint venture, Toms’ Good Lovin’ whiskey, can feel like a Sisyphean task.
That said, many Bravo-born brands are currently alive and thriving, and we wanted to know how they all stack up. So, we got to work tracking down every line we could find, from Vida Tequila to Loverboy. Without further ado, check out our definitive ranking of Bravolebrity booze brands.
7. Skinnygirl (Bethenny Frankel, ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’)
In the pilot season of “The Real Housewives of New York City,” founding cast member Frankel “invented” the now-controversial Skinny Girl Margarita, which contained Patrón silver, fresh lime juice, and a splash of triple sec. This inspired Frankel to launch Skinnygirl Cocktails with a low-calorie, ready-to-serve Margarita in 2009. While the lineup — which sold to Beam Suntory in 2011 — has since expanded to include several other cocktails, wines, vodka, and even salad dressings, we stuck to the OG Marg. And, woof. Its potent kitchen-cleaner aroma made taking even one sip feel like a chore. The watery palate wasn’t any better: The drink burst with an unattractive, artificial lime flavor that prevented our taste buds from picking up any tequila notes.
6. Rinna Wines (Lisa Rinna, ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’)
When the cast of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” set off on their Season 9 girl’s trip to Provence, France, it was a bad time to be a glass of wine. During an hours-long tasting, the ladies took down bottle after bottle of rosé, resulting in some of the drunkest moments the show has seen to date. It was here that then-series regular Rinna got the idea to start a wine label of her own: Rinna Wines, which hit shelves in August 2022. Made in collaboration with Prestige Beverage Group, the line includes Sparkling Brut and Sparkling Brut Rosé, both produced in Provence. Our tasting panel opted to sample the former, which was so tart it bordered on sour. While we picked up some faint hints of pear, the flavors quickly turned dusty on the back palate. Not only that, but the carbonation was so fine that it made consuming the sparkling wine a challenge, at best.
5. Vanderpump Wines (Lisa Vanderpump, ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ and ‘Vanderpump Rules’)
Vanderpump has made an impressive name for herself by starring on two of Bravo’s most successful programs and opening over 30 restaurants across the globe with husband Ken Todd. Given the couple’s illustrious hospitality career — and the fact that Lisa is rarely caught on camera without a glass of wine — it didn’t come as much of a shock when the former housewife announced her own wine label in 2013. Vanderpump Pink Sangria and Vanderpump Red Sangria hit shelves the following year and, unfortunately, neither is very good. The former smelled like the juice left over in a bowl of fruit salad (not in a good way) and things further fell apart on the palate: Saccharine, overripe fruit dominated our taste buds and stuck around in our mouths. The Red Sangria was slightly better, offering ripe red berry and baking spice notes that were better fused with the relatively tannic, dry red base. While we’re not sure we would ever reach for this product again, it was at least drinkable.
Vanderpump also launched a separate line of wines in 2017 with the release of her flagship expression, Vanderpump Rosé. We didn’t get a chance to sample the pink stuff, so we opted for Vanderpump Chardonnay, which debuted in 2020. Nutty and buttery oak aromas permeated the glass before a tart palate took over, highlighting flavors like pear, lemon, and brioche. While it’s not the best Chardonnay we’ve ever tasted, it certainly was better than the Sangrias, which was enough to bump it up a spot.
4. Casa Del Sol (Kathy Hilton, ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’)
Hilton, who makes frequent appearances on the show thanks to the housewife status of her sister Kyle Richards, didn’t found tequila brand Casa Del Sol. But her investor status sparked a pretty intense feud with cast mate Rinna, who opted to order Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila instead of Casa Del Sol while on a trip to Aspen. Unlike Rinna, we were interested in giving the brand a try, so we sampled the blanco, reposado, and añejo expressions.
Of the three, the blanco was by far the best, though it doesn’t stand up to other blancos at the same price point. While there were some pepper and grassy agave notes, the overwhelming flavors of caramel, vanilla, and confectioner sugar lingered in our mouths and were even sweeter on the finish. The reposado was similarly cloying, exuding heavy butterscotch aromas that joined bubble gum and baking spice on the palate. The worst of the trio was the añejo, which combined cloying butterscotch with artificial-tasting vanilla and caramel for a spirit that tasted more like a saltwater taffy than agave.
3. Vida Tequila (Lisa Barlow, ‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’)
If you’ve ever seen “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” you’ve likely watched series regular Barlow order a “Vida cocktail” while out for a meal. What exactly is in that cocktail remains up for debate, but Barlow just knows she wants the tequila that she owns. Despite the brand’s name recognition skyrocketing after the show’s premiere, Vida Tequila was actually founded over two decades ago, even before the U.S. tequila boom. Barlow and her husband John came up with the concept in 2003 after meeting their now-distilling partner, and by 2007, bottles of the stuff lined the shelves of Utah liquor stores.
The brand also offers reposado and añejo expressions, but we snagged the blanco, and we were pleasantly surprised by what we found. The spirit was intense on the nose, bursting with grassy agave aromas accompanied by underlying citrus. The palate was similar with vegetal notes, intense black pepper, and pyrazines. Crisp and citrusy on the finish, this tequila might not be a standout when compared to other high-quality blancos, but it certainly knocks other celebrity tequilas out of the water.
2. Loverboy (Kyle Cooke, ‘Summer House’)
Launched in 2018 just a year after “Summer House” hit the airwaves, co-stars and now-spouses Cooke and Amanda Batula launched Loverboy, a lineup of sparkling, low-ABV canned teas. The two got the idea for the brand by witnessing the added success that came to brands like Twisted Tea and Whispering Angel after cast mates drank them while filming. Promoting the line on the show delivered similar buzz: By 2023, the brand had generated approximately $38 million in sales across the U.S.
While there are about 10 hard teas under the brand’s umbrella alongside cocktails and spritzes, we kept things simple and tried the Hibiscus Lime and White Tea Peach teas. Both are wonderful. The former is highly floral, with hibiscus providing some bittersweetness that plays well with the lime juice’s acid. With a hint of pomegranate juice, the palate offered nice weight and a hit of sweetness. Equally refreshing was the White Tea Peach, which delivered a ripe, juicy peach flavor where one might expect candied peach rings. The tea’s tannins were more noticeable here than in the former can, which prevented the sweet stone fruit from taking over the palate.
1. Bluestone Manor (Dorinda Medley, ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’)
Despite her popularity with fans, Medley left the franchise in 2020 after six seasons. But she clearly made the most of her free time: Just a few months after the news of her departure broke, Medley launched Bluestone Manor Bourbon. Named after her sprawling estate in the Berkshires, the spirit is designed to fit into a niche not previously filled by other Bravo brands: brown liquor. And in our opinion, she pulls it off.
Bottled at 45 percent ABV, the bourbon is distilled in Newburgh, N.Y., from a mash bill of 70 percent corn, 25 percent wheat, and 5 percent malted barley. The result is a spirit with robust baking spice aromas undercut with a hint of enticing orange peel. The palate was similar, washing the taste buds with vanilla, allspice, and dried fruit. Weighty on the palate, the spirit is sure to hold up just as well in cocktails as it did neat, making it the certified champion of our Bravo booze battle.
