Where Bourbon Meets Culture

In the world of modern luxury, few brands are redefining the boundaries of craft and culture as boldly as Saint Cloud. At the center of this evolution is Gregory Jones II, the brand’s newly appointed Chief Culture Officer, whose vision bridges artistry, identity, and sensory storytelling. Known for elevating athletes, creators, and cultural architects throughout his career, Jones now channels that mastery into shaping a bourbon brand that operates more like a luxury house than a spirits company.

In this conversation with Taroue Brooks, Jones offers an intimate look into how Saint Cloud aims to transform not only the bourbon landscape, but also the cultural imagination surrounding it.

Taroue Brooks: How does the role of Chief Culture Officer allow you to shape the sensory, emotional, and cultural environment surrounding Saint Cloud—beyond the bottle itself?
Gregory Jones II: As Chief Culture Officer, I’m responsible for shaping the entire world surrounding Saint Cloud—the feeling, the identity, the atmosphere. Bourbon is what we make, but culture is what people experience. My work focuses on crafting the sensory cues, emotional touchpoints, and narrative architecture that turn Saint Cloud into an immersive luxury universe.

It’s the music you hear when you sip it.

It’s the art that frames the bottle.

It’s the stories we tell, the palettes we choose, the spaces we curate.

Luxury is a full-body experience, and my mission is to ensure every encounter with Saint Cloud feels intentional, elevated, and rooted in who we are.

Taroue Brooks: Saint Cloud positions itself as the only true luxury bourbon brand. What distinguishes “luxury bourbon” from premium or heritage bourbon—and how do you help consumers experience that difference?
Gregory Jones II: Luxury bourbon transcends mash bills and age statements. It lives in the realm of artistry, rarity, and emotional resonance. Heritage bourbons tell stories of the past. Premium bourbons focus on execution. Saint Cloud is about creation.

From Ray Walker’s instinctive barrel selection to the sculptural bottle design and color language, everything we make pushes into the domain of modern luxury. My role is to bring that to life through curated tastings, sensory design, and storytelling—so consumers can feel the distinction the moment they encounter us.

Taroue Brooks: Your career has centered on elevating athletes, creators, and storytellers. How will that expertise translate into building a cultural ecosystem around a spirits brand?
Gregory Jones II: I’ve always worked at the crossroads of talent and narrative—helping people expand their presence beyond performance. That translates directly into building Saint Cloud’s cultural ecosystem.

Athletes, artists, and creators drive cultural imagination. They shape taste and aspiration. My job is to bring those worlds into Saint Cloud’s orbit through collaborations, experiences, and touchpoints that feel premium, intentional, and culturally resonant.

Taroue Brooks: Ray Walker describes Saint Cloud’s design language as modern art brought to life. How do you envision expanding that artistic identity?
Gregory Jones II: Ray builds art through bourbon. My role is to build art through experience. That includes partnerships with designers and galleries, immersive pop-ups, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and tastings built around color, sound, and narrative.

It also means exploring limited-edition drops that connect fashion, music, craft, and visual identity. Saint Cloud thrives where art and luxury intersect—and that’s where I plan to push us even deeper.

Taroue Brooks: You’ve said, “Saint Cloud isn’t just bourbon—it’s the taste of culture.” What does cultural taste mean to you?
Gregory Jones II: Cultural taste is the harmony of tradition and evolution. It’s the flavor of lived experience—creativity, identity, and community. Culture has its own palette. You can feel it, hear it, and taste it.

For me, Saint Cloud embodies sophistication rooted in Black creativity, craftsmanship, and legacy. My responsibility is to ensure that philosophy shows up in everything we build—from the visuals to the voice to the moments we create.

Taroue Brooks: How does being independently and Black-owned shape the way you plan to build community and cultural authority?
Gregory Jones II: Independence means we create by our own standards. Black ownership means our perspective is authentic—not performative.

It allows us to build community with clarity and intention: honoring craftsmanship, celebrating our roots, and amplifying voices historically excluded from the luxury spirits world. Ownership gives us freedom. Freedom gives us direction. Direction gives us power.

Taroue Brooks: How will you ensure Saint Cloud becomes a mirror for identity, aspiration, and artistry?
Gregory Jones II: By making people feel seen.
Luxury isn’t defined solely by exclusivity—it’s defined by belonging to something that elevates you. We’ll create spaces where our consumers recognize themselves in our story, where their identity becomes part of the blueprint.

Through visuals, partnerships, and storytelling, Saint Cloud becomes a reflection of who they are—and who they aspire to be.

Taroue Brooks: Saint Cloud’s design sensibility is admired for its creativity and innovation. What new realms are you excited to introduce?
Gregory Jones II: Immersive, multi-sensory experiences are the future. Think high-art installations, curated soundscapes, design-driven tastings, and collaborations with visionary artists and designers.

I’m excited to bring Saint Cloud into contemporary art spaces, luxury lifestyle environments, editorial-level fashion moments, cinematic storytelling, and global design activations. We’re not just making bourbon—we’re crafting atmosphere.

Taroue Brooks: How do you envision Saint Cloud reshaping the narrative of bourbon?
Gregory Jones II: Bourbon doesn’t have to look, sound, or feel like the past. We’re injecting modern sophistication, color, identity, and cultural vibrancy into a category long defined by sameness.

Saint Cloud expands the definition of what bourbon can be—artistic, expressive, diverse, global—while honoring the craftsmanship that anchors it.

Taroue Brooks: How will your background influence collaborations and partnerships?
Gregory Jones II: My entire career has been about aligning talent with purpose. That experience guides my approach to partnerships—recognizing cultural alignment, building narratives that resonate, and elevating all sides involved.

For Saint Cloud, that means partnering with global tastemakers, designers, athletes, and creatives who reflect the intentionality and artistry we pour into every bottle.

Taroue Brooks: What emotions do you want consumers to feel when they encounter Saint Cloud?
Gregory Jones II: I want them to feel confidence, curiosity, sophistication, pride, warmth—and a powerful sense of belonging, as though they’ve stepped into something rare.

Luxury is emotional. Bourbon is sensory. Culture is spiritual. Saint Cloud lives at the intersection of all three.

Taroue Brooks: What does “developing the cultural pillar” of the brand mean to you?
Gregory Jones II: It means building a world people want to step into—a world defined by identity, artistry, elegance, and community.

The cultural pillar includes storytelling, partnerships, visual language, events, ambassadors, collectors, tastings, and the brand’s voice. Success is when Saint Cloud becomes more than something to drink—it becomes a lifestyle, a universe, a cultural landmark.

Taroue Brooks: How do you plan to engage tastemakers and cultural leaders in non-traditional bourbon spaces?
Gregory Jones II: You meet culture where it breathes.

We’re bringing Saint Cloud into art scenes, music spaces, fashion ecosystems, design communities, and global creative hubs—places bourbon brands rarely go. Our goal isn’t to chase influence, but to participate in the spaces where influence is born.

Taroue Brooks: How do you honor bourbon craft while elevating cultural artistry?
Gregory Jones II: By respecting both with equal reverence. Craft is our foundation; culture is our expression.

We’re not replacing tradition—we’re expanding it. We take the discipline and heritage of bourbon-making and wrap it in modern creativity, identity, and perspective. That balance defines us.

Taroue Brooks: When you imagine Saint Cloud five years from now, what do you see?
Gregory Jones II: I see a global luxury house rooted in craft, culture, and community. I see Saint Cloud as the premier Black-owned spirits brand in the world—anchored by art installations, private tasting salons, design collaborations, exclusive drops, and cultural gatherings that become signature moments.

I see legacy.

I see influence.

I see Saint Cloud standing alongside the world’s greatest luxury houses—and doing so entirely on our own terms.