Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter came out earlier this year and received rave reviews for its reinterpretation of Americana and southern music—particularly that of Texas and Louisiana—writ large. No, it’s not a country album, per se, but it certainly remakes Country Western music in Beyoncé’s image, and the record rollout featured plenty of horsies and tassels.
Those horses are no coincidence, nor are they a seeming overreliance on country stereotypes or tropes. Instead, they are a very intentional allusion to Black rodeo culture. Now, the horse theme has extended itself to Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Moët Hennessy’s joint venture, the new whisky brand SirDavis.