On February 21, Kansas Metropolis, Missouri-based J.Rieger & Co. is releasing a uncommon new whiskey assortment that celebrates Black baseball historical past. The quartet options 4 completely different kinds of whiskey, representing cities the place Negro Leagues groups performed within the first half of the twentieth century.
Till Jackie Robinson stepped onto Ebbets Area for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, Main League Baseball (MLB) unofficially banned Black individuals from competitors. Earlier than then, African Individuals performed organized baseball within the Negro Nationwide League (NNL), which was based in 1920 by Andrew “Rube” Foster, participant, supervisor, and proprietor of the Chicago American Giants. Black baseball gamers competed for the NNL pennant till 1948, when the league shut down.
But the story lives on on the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas Metropolis, MO, which partnered with J. Rieger & Co. to launch the Fielder’s Selection Assortment.
Made up of 4 distinctive whiskeys, every expression pays homage to an iconic Negro Leagues workforce. There is a whiskey completed in Kansas Metropolis beer barrels, a Missouri-made bourbon, a Cracker Jacks-inspired mild whiskey, and a Pennsylvania rye. Arriving in a custom-designed field set, a portion of all gross sales from this collaboration launch will profit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
“The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum want to toast our pals at J. Rieger for partnering with us to have fun the profitable spirit of the Negro Leagues with this superb commemorative assortment of spirits and we stay up for the thrilling launch,” says Bob Kendrick, NLBM President.
“The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is an icon of Kansas Metropolis and we’re past honored to be partnering with our pals there on this assortment of spirits,” says Andy Rieger, co-founder of J. Rieger & Co. “We need to see the museum proceed to flourish, preserving the unbelievable legacy of Negro Leagues baseball, for generations to return.”
Kansas Metropolis Monarchs
Kansas Metropolis Whiskey completed in KC Bier Co. Barrels, 47% ABV
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To have fun their hometown workforce, the Kansas Metropolis Monarchs, J. Rieger & Co aged its Kansas Metropolis Whiskey in KC Bier Co. barrels. The longest-running franchise in Negro Leagues historical past, the workforce received a document twelve league titles and two Negro League World Sequence Championships. The beer casks give the whiskey a uniquely malty character.
St. Louis Stars
Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 47.5% ABV
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J. Rieger & Co.’s first small-batch, Missouri-made bourbon commemorates the St. Louis Stars, who received three league titles between 1928 to 1931. A mix of two hand-picked barrels, this bourbon is produced from a mash invoice that includes corn, rye, and malted barley. It gives a wealthy, malty, and buttery character.
Chicago American Giants
Gentle Whiskey, 50% ABV
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Made out of 100% corn, that is the primary time J. Rieger & Co. has launched a “mild whiskey” as a standalone expression. It honors the Chicago American Giants, who dominated Black baseball within the early 1900s, as they earned seven league titles and received the 1926 and 1927 Negro World Sequence. The Gentle Whiskey tastes like Cracker Jacks, a quintessential baseball deal with, which additionally hails from Chicago.
Homestead Grays
Small Batch Straight Rye Whiskey, 50% ABV
J. Rieger & Co. commemorates Pittsburgh’s Homestead Grays by way of a rye, a becoming tribute to a workforce from the birthplace of rye whiskey: Pennsylvania. The Homestead Grays received 10 league titles and three Negro World Sequence Champions in 1943, 1944, and 1948. This limited-edition rye celebrates the 50 years the workforce performed in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. The well-balanced whiskey options spicy aromas adopted by a wealthy, well-balanced palate.
The whiskey could be pre-ordered till February 21 and is accessible by way of the distillery’s web site.
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