Skip to content
Search
Cuisine Noir Magazine
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • Events
  • Marketplace
  • Print
  • Podcast
  • More
    • The Culinary Scoop (blog)
    • Black Wineries
    • Videos
    • CN Review
    • Donate
Cuisine Noir Magazine
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • CN Review
  • Marketplace
  • Print
  • The Culinary Scoop (blog)
  • Events
  • Black Wineries
  • Videos
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate
Search
Cuisine Noir Magazine
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • Events
  • Marketplace
  • Print
  • Podcast
  • More
    • The Culinary Scoop (blog)
    • Black Wineries
    • Videos
    • CN Review
    • Donate
Cuisine Noir Magazine
  • Food & Drink
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Recipes
  • Book Grub
  • CN Review
  • Marketplace
  • Print
  • The Culinary Scoop (blog)
  • Events
  • Black Wineries
  • Videos
Support Our Work - Donate
Support Our Work - Donate

Karl Franz Williams Unearths Roots with Uncle Waithley’s Vincy Brew Ginger Beer

Uncle Waithley's Vincy Brew - Founder Karl Franz Williams
Pictured: Karl Franz Williams | Photo credi: Clay Williams
March 15, 2023
Ashia Aubourg
Share this article
       

Life has a funny way of taking you on different journeys. Karl Franz Williams, a world-renowned mixologist, entrepreneur and founder of Uncle Waithley's Vincy Brew Ginger Beer, knows this all too well. Yet, despite having a path equipped with many twists and turns, he always finds a way to connect his work with his passion. A skill that takes tenacity and intentionality.

A Vincy Upbringing

The entrepreneur was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, but calls NYC home, having moved there when he was six. With his father's roots in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Williams’ connection to the southern Caribbean island was always present, especially embracing the term Vincy, which natives use to encapsulate their culture.

“I have always been into Pan-Caribbean culture because there was Vincy culture in my household and with my family. And in my community, I was always around Jamaican or Trinidadian cultures too,” he shares.

At the time, the future restaurateur did not know that these cultural admirations would be his foundation for starting his entrepreneurial legacy. On the contrary, Williams went to Yale University to pursue and later graduated with a degree in electrical engineering.

From Electrical Engineering to Food Innovation

After graduating from the elite ivy league school, Williams went on to do brand management for Procter & Gamble, which craved a path for him to land at Pepsi working on food innovation. The path from electrical engineering to food science made sense because of the foundation in chemistry and math essential to creating products.

Working with food and flavors felt oddly comfortable to the professional. “I was on a mission to develop an idea for the next generation of Pepsi beverages. And that's when I started working with mixologists for inspiration,” he shares.

  • Alan Henderson Diversifies the Bar with Tributes to Black History in the Spirits IndustryAlan Henderson of Henderson Spirits Group
  • Black Mixcellence Book Cements Black Contributions to the Spirits IndustryBlack Mixcellence - Colin Colin Asare-Appiah

Product innovation came naturally, but the New York native was getting fed up with creating ideas for large companies. While working on different flavor concoctions, Williams says, “The call to become an entrepreneur was strong. So I decided to leave Pepsi.”

Establishing a Legacy

The former Pepsi innovator decided to take a risk and open four drink and food spots within ten years. The first restaurant to open was Society Coffee in June 2005. Followed by 67 Orange Street (December 2008), Solomon and Kuff (December 2015) and the Anchor Spa (June 2016).

Unfortunately, Society Coffee closed in 2011 and Solomon & Kuff in 2019. Yet, despite these trials, the restaurateur learned a lot about remaining connected to his businesses. “I was under a lot of financial pressure, and so I started to realize that one of the things that I could do to really turn things around was to get closer to what was going on, connect to the essence of the experience,” shares Williams.

This realization helped the business owner re-prioritize, which later allowed him to excel and receive several accolades celebrating his mixology efforts.

Uncle Waithley's Vincy Brew - 4 pack
Pictured: Uncle Waithley's Vincy Brew Ginger Beer 4-pack | Photo credit: Uncle Waithley's
Launching Uncle Waithley’s Vincy Brew

Williams leaned into his passion for unearthing flavors. However, he wanted to push the boundaries further by developing his own drink. So, with more than a decade of innovating new products and running bar programs under this belt—all while constantly educating himself—the future ginger beer enthusiast decided it was time to pilot a product of his own.

It's only fitting that the inspiration ties back to his Vincy roots. At his late restaurant, Solomon and Kuff, the bar was known for having hundreds of rums tracing back to different Caribbean countries. It became increasingly apparent that a dark n’ stormy (made with dark rum and ginger beer) was the cocktail of choice for those frequenting the bar.

After trying many ginger beers to get the perfect notes for this highly requested cocktail, Williams felt that many fell short of the flavor profiles he was looking for. “The ginger beer from home always has a rich and fresh taste of ginger and is packed with deep flavors and spices,” the ginger beer enthusiast shared.

And so, unafraid of pursuing new business ventures, Williams did what he knew best; he created his own. In 2021, the New Yorker launched Uncle Waithley's Vincy Brew—a small batch and all-natural ginger beer made with Scotch bonnet pepper inspired by his grandfather.

Globalizing Ginger Beer

Uncle Waithley is the name his grandfather went by. The Vincy brew encapsulates Williams’s roots and starts by incorporating fresh, pungent Scotch bonnet peppers. It was important for the drink innovator to pick this pepper because of its history of being widely used across the Caribbean and West Africa and prized for its spicy and sweet flavor. Uncle Waithley Vincy Brew’s vibrant mango-esque yellow color comes from ginger, turmeric and lime. It is finished with crispy Vincy-inspired mineral water, giving it a sparkling effect.

It is the only Black-owned Caribbean ginger beer with Scotch bonnet in the U.S. market. And if that's not enough, what truly makes this ginger beer stand out from the crowd is its vintage brewing process. A step-by-step guide for creating the perfect drink, inspired by his father. “My dad was like, ‘If you're making ginger beer, you know, the best way is to put it on the windowsill and let it sit there for a couple of days.’”

The mixologist refers to a process of fermentation. “We felt it was really important to allow our brews to ferment to give them this really rich flavor,” says Williams.

Uncle Waithley's Vincy Brew has been perfected and is expanding with bottles now in Whole Foods, Boisson, and 35-plus other retail establishments. The drink brand is also gearing up for retail internationally. Furthermore, the company has secured a distributor to get their brews into Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

RELATED: Hella Cocktail’s Jomaree Pinkard Appointed CEO and Managing Director for Pronghorn

“I really want to celebrate our culture. And so, to me, that makes what we're doing more of a mission than just the business.”

Williams recently launched an investment campaign to expand Uncle Waithley’s Vincy Brew due to its growth on Start Engine.  For more information and to invest, visit www.startengine.com/offering/unclewaithleys.

To purchase Uncle Waithley's Vincy Brew, visit their website and follow Williams and the brand on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

  • Kitchen Karaoke singer Maysa Leak
    under Food & Drink Maysa Leak’s Kitchen Karaoke Merges Her Love of Music and Cooking
  • Celebrity chef and The Great Soul Food Cook-Off Champion Razia Sabour
    under Black Chefs , Food & Drink Celebrity Chef Razia Sabour Honors Soul Food’s History with Competition Win
  • Kitwanda and Tyronne Cypus of Kiki's Chicken and Waffles in South Carolina
    under Black Chefs , Food & Drink Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles Holds the Right Bones for Success
  • under Etiquette Etiquette in Public Places
Share this article
Ashia Aubourg

Intrigued by food since a young girl, Ashia aspired to be a professional chef, but after testing out the waters, realized that was not her path. Still passionate about food, she became the first to declare Food Studies as a major at Syracuse University where her research and passion focused on community empowerment through food. When Ashia is not writing or analyzing data about food, she loves to practice cooking and developing recipes at home for her food blog.

Related Articles

Loading...
Food & Drink

Rémy Martin Celebrates 50 Years of Hip-Hop With VSOP Mixtape and Museum

Diaspora Kitchen project in Cameroon from March 9 - 10, 2023
Black Chefs Featured Food & Drink

Inaugural Diaspora Kitchen Event Celebrates Cameroonian Cuisine

Mr. Bake Kareem Queeman
Black Chefs Food & Drink

Mr. Bake Sweets’ Kareem Queeman Whips Up James Beard Nomination

Be the first to know about the latest online, industry updates, world news, events and promotions that connect the African diaspora through food, drink and travel.

    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising

    #IAmCuisineNoir

    This site participates in affiliate programs. See our full disclosure for more information.

    Copyright© 2023 Cuisine Noir and The Global Food and Drink Initiative. Privacy
    Site by ACS Digital

    Any unauthorized duplication, download or reprint of images or content from this website for promotional or commercial use is strictly prohibited without written permission from The Global Food and Drink Initiative. Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Trademark pending.

    YES!  We’re excited you are signing up too!  

    Get ready to receive our weekly newsletter about:

    • New articles online
    • World news and industry happenings throughout the African Diaspora
    • Mouthwatering recipes
    • Promotions and giveaways

    Right in your inbox!