There’s an official whiskey of K-State Wildcats sports. It’s called Wabash Reserve
.jpg "Fans can now drink a glass of an officially licensed Kansas State whiskey.")
If you like watching Kansas State sports and drinking whiskey, good news is on the way.
A new drink is scheduled to hit the shelves in liquor stores next week across the Sunflower State that will combine those two passions.
The whiskey is called Wabash Reserve, and it’s a new collaboration between K-State athletics and Boot Hill Distillery in Dodge City.
The Wabash Reserve label bills itself as the official bourbon whiskey drink of K-State athletics, and promises authentic Wildcat spirit in every bottle. The drink is 90 proof with an alcohol content of 45%. It has been aged two years. All bottles are 750 milliliters.
K-State fans may see the drink pop up at tailgates before the Wildcats’ first football game of the season against Stanford on Sept. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The product, distributed by Standard Beverage, will be available in liquor stores, restaurants and bars across Kansas on Sept. 1.
“We are thrilled to work with fellow K-Stater Hayes Kelman and his entire Boot Hill Distillery staff on this unique and exciting project, which we know will be popular with our fans,” K-State athletics director Gene Taylor said in a statement. “There are very few universities with officially branded whiskey partnerships, and we are appreciative of the work of our staff, our partners at Learfield, Affinity licensing, the great people at Boot Hill and all of the statewide businesses who will carry this premium beverage.”
It is interesting to see K-State partner with a whiskey distillery on a drink deal, considering such arrangements were frowned upon in college athletics as recently as a few years ago. But this news comes a day after the Pac-12 partnered with Deschutes Brewery as the official craft beer of the conference.
A few years ago, Texas agreed to an athletic sponsorship with Corona.
These deals are becoming more common.
And now, K-State fans will have something new to drink before football games.
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 2:42 PM with the headline "There’s an official whiskey of K-State Wildcats sports. It’s called Wabash Reserve."