The Negro National League was established in 1920 by Andrew “Rube” Foster at a time when American baseball was racially segregated to exclude black players from the major and minor leagues. To celebrate the history of the league and its impact on civil rights and baseball, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has collaborated with Kansas City’s J. Rieger & Co. Distillery on a new collection of four new whiskeys, each representing a different team with a unique label.
The Fielder’s Choice collection comes in a custom-designed box, with each label featuring the name and logo of a Negro Leagues team. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the collection will be donated to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, also based in Kanas City. “The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a Kansas City icon and we are beyond honored to collaborate with our friends on this spirits collection,” Andy Rieger, co-founder of J. Rieger & Co, said in a statement. “We want to see the museum continue to thrive, preserving the incredible legacy of Negro League baseball, for generations to come. Our entire team at J. Rieger & Co. is truly excited about this collaboration, from the special whiskey expressions and collectible labels to the upcoming launch event at the distillery.
The first bottle is a Kansas City whiskey finished in barrels from local brewery KC Bier Co., a tribute to the two-time Negro League World Series champions, the Kansas City Monarchs. It was bottled at 94 proof in a nod to Buck O’Neil, a Monarchs player who died at 94. The second release is a small batch of straight bourbon blended from just two barrels, a first for the distillery, paying homage to the St. Louis Stars. This whiskey was bottled at 95 proof. The third is a light 100 proof whiskey, a style we recently wrote about. This whiskey was made from a 100% corn mashbill (it’s supposed to taste like Cracker Jacks) and pays homage to the American Chicago Giants. The latest release is a small batch 100 proof rye whiskey celebrating the Homestead Grays of Pennsylvania, a state historically known for its rye whiskey.
The Fielder’s Choice collection is now available for pre-sale from the J. Rieger website, and there will be a fundraiser and launch event on February 21 to celebrate the release of the whiskey and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. You can also find other J. Rieger expressions available for purchase on websites like Total Wine Now.
Auteurs
2024-01-31 04:22:54
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