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In an xoNecole exclusive, the mom of two opened up about many things, including starting her wellness journey at 13 years old. However, a near-death experience during a procedure at 20 made her start taking her health more seriously.
“There's so many different levels, and now, I'm in a space of just integrating all of this good stuff that I've learned just about just being human, you know?” Dreka tells us. “So it's also fun because it's like a journey of self-discovery and self-mastery. That's what I call it. So it's never-ending.”
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If you follow Dreka, then you’re familiar with her holistic lifestyle, as she’s no stranger to promoting wellness, self-care, and holistic living. She even lives part-time on a Mississippi farm, not far from her grandmother and great-grandmother’s farm, where she spent some summers as a child.
While her grandmother and great-grandmother have passed on, Dreka reflects on that time in her life and how having a farm as an adult is her getting back to her roots. “So the farm was purchased back in 2017, and it was like, ah, that'll just be a place where we go when we're not touring or whatever,” she said.
“But COVID hit, and I was there, and I was on the land, and I just started remembering back to going to my grandmother's during the summertime and freaking picking peas and going and eating mulberries off the freaking tree in the bushes.
“And she literally had cotton plants. I know some people feel weird about picking cotton and stuff. She had cotton plants and I would go and pick cotton out of her garden. And she had chickens, and I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots.”
"I literally just broke down in tears one day when I was on the farm just doing all the things, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh. I'm literally getting back to my roots."
You can catch glimpses of Dreka’s farm life on Instagram, which shows her picking fruit and vegetables and loving on her animals like her camel Eessa. Her passion for growing and cultivating led her to try and grow all of her ingredients for her wellness brand, Dreka Wellness. However, she quickly realized that she might be biting off more than she could chew. But that didn’t stop her from fulfilling her vision.
Watch below as Dreka talks more about her business, her wellness tips, breaking toxic cycles, becoming a doula, and more.
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My journey into enjoying brown spirits began during Megan Thee Stallion's hot girl era in my mid-twenties. Between 2018 and 2019, she had every Black girl I know singing along to "Big Ole Freak" and my personal favorite, "Cognac Queen," while driving the boat. Upon my first taste, I realized that I enjoyed brown spirits much more than tequila, vodka, or gin. Growing up in a household where drinking wasn't encouraged, I didn't try wine until I was 19 and didn't taste hard alcohol until I was 21.
My initial experiences with vodka and whatever tequila was trendy in college felt different from this era; it felt more intentional.
As I entered my thirties, I sought a more refined drinking experience. Still a hot girl, just a refined hot girl with limits. Alongside my newfound love for sustainable Black-owned wine, my go-to drink became a French 75 with D'usse instead of gin. I started serving Hennessy mules at my Christmas parties (I heard Oprah does this, so I did it too, lol), preparing summer sweet teas with Uncle Nearest or Maker's Mark, and topping my homemade southern pecan pie with Grand Marnier-infused whipped cream every Thanksgiving, which has become a dessert that my entire family loves.
When the news of Beyoncé releasing a whisky was announced, I thought, 'Finally, something for the girls who love brown liquor.' Naturally, we know that she loves her D'usse, but whisky was a surprise to me. It felt like a homecoming for the Texas native. Cowboy Carter's release, while meant with much criticism to me, gave Black women permission to own every part of their background, the roots, and upbringing that make them who they are.
So a whisky named in honor of her great-grandfather felt like a reaching forward to a new avenue of entrepreneurship, while further firmly planting herself into her consistent branding of family values, lineage, and purposeful partnerships.
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Before We Sip: Let's Talk The Sir Davis Breakdown What Is SirDavis?
SirDavis is an Award-winning American whisky founded by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and crafted in partnership with Moët Hennessy and five-time International Whisky Competition Master Distiller of the Year, Dr. Bill Lumsden, who holds a PhD in biochemistry and has been in the whisky industry for almost 40 years. This tells me the Texas native did her homework and called in the experts to curate something special.
SirDavis also gave me the confidence not to shy away from being a woman who appreciates the rich, complex flavors of brown liquor and leans into my pride in my grandfather's family and his older brothers who sold moonshine in The Carolinas.
Curating My Own SirDavis Tasting
As a meticulous Aries, I pride myself on my attention to detail. Upon conducting thorough research (aka scrolling via TikTok and Twitter), I uncovered that during a private SirDavis tasting, the ambiance exuded a mysterious allure, with an abundance of SirDavis flowing, accompanied by a fact sheet, thoughtfully crafted cocktails, honeycomb, and southern food pairings (My kind of party Bey, where was my invite?!)
In this same vein, with Cowboy Carter in the background, I invited my godsister over, and we savored SirDavis in three distinct manners: warm, over ice, and artfully incorporated into two of their ten suggested cocktails.
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My Honest Review of SirDavis American Whisky
When I enjoyed SirDavis warm, it was like a smooth, sexy dance on my palate. It felt like something you should sip with your man in the evening after a long day or solo like Bey. I recently purchased a vinyl player, and I could see myself grabbing one of my records, a glass, and sipping slowly, snapping my fingers to the beat, swaying my hips, and letting the evening take me where it needed to.
If I were playing Beyoncé, I’d put on "Be With You," "Superpower," or "Gift From Virgo." That said, for me, enjoying the whisky warm would only be during a sexy night, lol; on a regular night, I'm not at a slowly sipping whisky stage just yet.
Once I added ice, I had another sip and was ready for Davis Old Fashioned, which I tried next. It's a mixture of the desire to sip slowly and needing a bit more sweetness. It was my favorite drink, and I'll add that to the rotation. I didn't always enjoy the drink, I thought I was a little too young for it to be honest.
But a few months ago, I had an Old Fashioned with black lemon bitters, toasted black sesame Averna, kikoi rice whiskey, and bourbon, and I was hooked. The Davis Old Fashioned took me back to that same feeling.
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Davis Old Fashioned
2 oz SirDavis American Whisky
.25 oz Honey Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Next, I tried The Honey Bee cocktail. I enjoyed it, but as a fan of the French 75, I would prefer to add some prosecco or champagne to it. My sister really liked the drink, but I wanted a bit of fizz as soon as I tasted the lemon juice. This would be a girls' night cocktail that I’d offer if friends came over, and definitely a bottle I’d request someone bring me as a hostess gift.
The Honey Bee
2 oz SirDavis American Whisky
.75 oz Lemon Juice
.50 oz Honey Syrup
My Honest Takeaway
I'll absolutely keep SirDavis in the rotation. The whisky has an exquisite, refined taste that demands you to savor and appreciate every flavor and aroma, from cloves and tangy Seville oranges to raisins, cinnamon, ginger, demerara sugar, and toffee. It's a drink for those who confidently enjoy dark liquor and for a new generation of ladies. And who knows, maybe I'll even get my mom to try some with me.
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Featured image by Yasmine Jameelah/xoNecole