Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice
Meet Erica Jones and Asiaa Karriem, owners of Reyalibre, a Black woman-owned tequila brand.
The brand is also LGBTQ+ owned and based in Atlanta. Carefully cultivated over the last five years, Reyalibre made its debut in the Atlanta community six months ago.
“Reya” in Spanish means real or true and “Libre” means free. Reyalibre, Karriem said, translates to giving you the true freedom to enjoy the tequila neat, chilled, or mixed. She’s been a Spanish teacher in Atlanta for 12 years.
“We went through a huge list of name ideas, but we wanted to capture the spirit of who we were and wanted to capture the spirit of what we’re trying to do and Reyalibre did that for us,” Karriem said. “It’s making waves in the spirits industry”.”
As a proudly crafted and award-winning tequila, Reyalibre is redefining what premium tequila looks like—rooted in tradition, yet boldly innovative. Since launching, Reyalibre has gained recognition for its exceptional quality, smooth taste, and commitment to authenticity.
Beyond the bottle, this brand represents something bigger—a celebration of culture, entrepreneurship, and breaking barriers in an industry where Black women are significantly underrepresented.
The notes in the Blanco include fresh herbs, Citrus, and light pepper notes. In the reposado, the couple says you’ll taste notes of caramel and vanilla, with a woodsy feel and bourbon adjacent.
Reyalibre, Karriem says, is different from any other tequila because they took the time to cultivate something special and took the burn off the tequila.
“We set out to fix the problem we had with tequila, we love tequila, but we didn’t like the burn, and some of them didn’t taste good,” she said. “We didn’t want to accept what’s out there and put money behind brands that didn’t suit our needs, so we created our own.”
They aerated the tequila to take the burn off the front and back end, so people could taste the notes of the Agave plant itself. When you’re making tequila, the planet itself takes seven years to mature, according to the couple of 15 years.
“After it takes seven years to mature, it’s chopped down and baked for 40 hours. After this, it’s mashed down to get the agave nectar out and we mixed it with volcanic water and yeast,” they said.
Also, a Pride flag is located on the back of the bottle and the reason for this is the couple thought it would be important to honor historically marginalized communities. The intent is to celebrate these communities every day and not just on holidays and celebrations such as Pride Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and other celebratory occasions.
Karriem says the celebration and acknowledgment are all the time because these communities are always here.
“We’re so often taking whatever it is that’s given to us, and we don’t have to,” Karriem said. “I wanted to express an elevated freedom for us, and not just freedom from oppression, but a free-spirited life where we have time, freedom, and use our influence and power to speak to the industry, we deserve the best.”
Some business goals that they have for the year is to “take Atlanta by storm”. Karriem says Atlanta represents all types of communities whether it’s BIPOC, queer, and many others.
“Atlanta represents all of the colors on the Pride flag, we’re influential and I wanted to make sure that we take Atlanta by storm,” she said. “I want to ensure we’re in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in State Farm Arena, at the airport.”
As a fellow Atlantean, Karriem says she wants the business in her city because it’s where she was born and raised. She also says Atlanta is the largest community for the LGBTQ+.
“This is my home and anytime I travel anywhere in the world, there’s no better feeling that I feel when I’m on the plane and see my skyline; it always feels like home when I’m looking out the window,” she said. “I want this to be Atlanta’s tequila.”
In five to 10 years, the couple of 15 years say they see Reyalibre having national distribution and liberating people to live life on their own terms authentically.
“We want to make sure we’re on the bars across the country spreading the exact same message of freedom. We want to ensure Reyalibre isn’t just a tequila company, but a movement of freedom, for you to be able to choose and live how you want on your terms,” she said.
In six months of launching Reyalibre, it’s been deemed an award-winning tequila for their expressions. Their Añejo won a gold award at the Latin World Spirits Awards in Mexico, and it isn’t even out in the market yet, according to the couple.
“The Añejo and a crystalline reposado should be out this year as well,” Erica said.
As for advice to anyone looking to start their own tequila or spirit brand, Karriem says to “do it”.
“Figure out what it is you like. That’s what we did, all the market research, and don’t accept whatever is offered to you if it doesn’t suit your needs,” she said. “That’s in life and in tequila. If you need help, ask.”
She also said they need more Black-owned spirits out in the world.
“It’s quite a few of us, but we need more, because we are the largest consumer of spirits,” she said.
Erica says being an entrepreneur for over 30 years as a DJ in the LGBTQ+ community and owner of the restaurant Wing Bar in the East Atlanta Village for 10 years, has taught them to not be scared.
“Don’t be scared and if you’re scared, face it because if you let that fear fuel you, you’ll never make any real moves,” she said. “That’s how you learn and go into saying, ‘this could work’ but don’t be afraid of it not working, just keep going.”
Karriem said she hopes people have positive reactions to the Blanco version of their tequila because so many people have negative experiences from silver or white tequila.
“Ours is smooth, most times we have to force people to taste it, but when they do, they’re like, ‘Oh, this is good, I can drink this’,” she said. “We’d love for more people to have a positive experience with our Blanco because we’re giving you a quality product. It’s not going to give you a headache or look bad the next day, but it’s still tequila though at the end of the day, don’t get it twisted.”
She also said they want to make sure people lean into their community.
“If whatever community you identify in, lean into your community and make sure you’re serving them with love and relying on them,” she said. “I want you to have a positive tequila experience, not a bad experience.”
Reyalibre is currently in eight liquor stores and roughly about 25 clubs and bars in Atlanta.
“In six months, that’s amazing, but it’s just the beginning,” Erica said. “We’re expecting to expand soon. We’re already in Prohibition liquor stores in Smyrna, in Veteran’s Memorial, J&J Liquor stores in Stockbridge, Camp Creek, World Beverage, ATL South. Bim’s Package store, My Friend’s bottle shop, and more coming soon.”
For more information, visit https://www.reyalibretequila.com.
