Sips & Sites & Bites

The spirits scene on the West Coast continues to grow, and is doing so with quality as much as quantity. 

Fierce & Kind, an award-winning spirits brand based in San Diego, distills its spirits from sustainably-sourced grain and can be found at bottle shops, national retailers and bars and restaurants across California. And of course, can be purchased online. 

Their portfolio includes a straight bourbon that’s aged two years and five months, Fierce & Kind’s 86 proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It sells for $55.  

And their American Vodka is a six-times distilled vodka, which the maker notes has a “lovely creaminess and gracefully light finish.” It retails for $35.  

Fierce & Kind was founded in 2022 by Cyndi Smith and Basem Harb, and is proudly woman- and minority-founded. Through Fierce & Kind’s internal stock options program and equity crowdfunding campaign, it is an employee- and consumer-owned company as well.  

Fierce & Kind’s American Vodka was recently awarded the Gold Medal at the 2023 TAG Las Vegas Global Spirits Competition.  

The community-based brand also donates 25% of profits to its sister foundation, The Fierce & Kind Equity Foundation. The Foundation in turn funnels energy, action and capital into building economic opportunities and entrepreneurship in historically disadvantaged communities.  

For more information or to find a bottle, check out www.https://fiercenkind.com.