Ja Rule is expanding his business portfolio with Amber & Opal, a honey-botanical rye whiskey he co-founded with three longtime friends.
Ja Rule and his three business partners are seeking $5 million to $7 million in funding to hire additional staff and expand Amber & Opal into new markets, according to Inc. The founders initially bootstrapped the business, using their own resources to get it off the ground. They have not publicly detailed the terms of their current fundraising effort.
Launched in 2024, the brand has landed on menus at several New York restaurants and expanded into seven states, according to Forbes.
Earlier this year, the rapper promoted the whiskey outside Tatiana, a Manhattan restaurant near Lincoln Center, handing cocktails to people waiting in line. Inside, the drink appears on the menu as the Amber Rush.
The same drink has also shown up at Flyfish Club and Chez Margaux.
“I wasn’t a big whiskey drinker before we created our own brand,” Ja Rule said. “And now, that’s what I drink.”
The brand is aimed at what the founders call “whiskey curious” drinkers, people who may find traditional whiskey intimidating or who have never connected with the category’s established heritage labels.
Herb Rice, a longtime Ja Rule friend and business partner, once hoped to reach all 50 states within two years. That plan has shifted.
The focus now is on securing stronger placement in liquor stores and bars in the markets where Amber & Opal already exists: New York; New Jersey; California; Georgia; Washington, D.C.; Maryland; and Florida.
“We’re kind of growing the scarcity market for our brand,” Ja Rule said.
Limited availability, the founders believe, creates curiosity.
Still, it’s a difficult moment for American whiskey.
Category sales fell 0.9 percent to $5.1 billion in 2025, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
Trade tensions with Canada added further pressure. Canadian imports of U.S. alcoholic beverages dropped 81 percent to $582 million between March 2025 and February 2026.
At the same time, studies show younger adults in Gen Z are drinking less than previous generations.
“There’s always going to be challenges, whether people are leaning more toward health or marijuana,” Ja Rule said. The company, he added, is concentrating on reaching consumers and delivering a product that holds up on its own.
Cocktails remain a key entry point. The Amber Rush, a cocktail of whiskey, fresh agave and freshly squeezed lemon juice, is designed to introduce the spirit before customers try it neat.
Rice has said the mixed drinks help people get comfortable with the whiskey.
Ja Rule has been clear about what he wants the brand to stand on.
“The product is the actual star here,” he said. “We want you to taste the brand, love the brand, like y’all love me.”
Amber & Opal joins a growing list of celebrity-backed spirits that includes projects tied to Bob Dylan, Peyton Manning, Andy Roddick and Beyoncé.
Rice has said he hopes to take the whiskey international within the next decade, eventually seeing it poured in European bars and pubs.
For now, the focus remains closer to home, building demand one market, one restaurant and one bottle at a time.
