Jubilee Spirits, a new Black-owned, Houston-based distillery, is making history while celebrating history, with a unique group of founders and the company’s first ultra-premium spirits product- General Orders No.3 (GO3) Vodka.

Jubilee Spirits was founded by a small group of African American entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds and careers, brought together through college, friendship, and family, to create a brand that perpetuates the celebration of freedom, diversity, and leadership in an industry with very few Black owned and operated distilleries. The collective group, who are graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) including Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M, The University of Texas at Austin, Wiley College, University of Houston, and Cornell, wanted to create a high-end, ultra-premium vodka that celebrated freedom, heritage, and culture, while simultaneously giving back to the institutional foundations that have contributed to their successes.

“We all wanted to make sure our story and product tied us to our Houston roots, but also focused on celebrating and expanding freedom, opportunity, diversity, equity and inclusion in the beverage industry and national marketplace,” said co-founder Ron Lockett II. “It's important for us to not only create a quality product that gives back to the communities where we reside and do business, but also to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and ensure opportunities for success exist at institutions that foster and support freedom, economic freedom, equality and education. With that mission in mind, we are donating nearly 10 percent of all GO3 Vodka net sales back to historically Black colleges and universities.”

In June 2022, Lockett and the Jubilee Spirits founders launched General Orders No.3 (GO3), its first heritage-rich, ultra-premium vodka, with a Juneteenth concert and donated all the proceeds to scholarship funds for Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M students!

The Vodka’s brand name, General Orders No.3, and distinctive bottle pay homage to the historical moment on June 19, 1865, when emancipation was finally realized for enslaved African Americans held in captivity in the state of Texas. The ultra-premium 80 Proof vodka is distilled in the heart of Houston’s 5th Ward and made from a proprietary blend of Texas sweet yellow corn, sweet potatoes and russet potatoes, infused with pure glacial melt from the Teton Mountains of Southeastern Idaho. The GO3 handcrafted vodka offers a rich, full-bodied flavor, with refreshing buttery notes and a mild hint of sweet caramel that combine to form a super smooth, luxury cocktail experience!

GO3 Vodka is currently available at select Texas locations and Black-owned restaurants and liquor retailers in Houston, including The Warwick, Bar 5015, Wing Boss, Our Legends Lounge & Cigar Bar, B's Wine Bar, Bottles & Booze Liquor Store, Dot's Liquor #1, OST Liquor, Jerid Liquor Beer & Wine, Gran Liquor, Legacy Liquor, and Liquor Lot, and in the Dallas/Fort Worth area at Kocktails and Kitchen, Sandaga, West Jax, Scott's Liquor Discount, and Buddy's Liquor Store, with plans for nationwide distribution in the coming months.