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Top 10
Top 10 sport and spirits collabs from 2024
This year, spirits brands have discovered that the world of sport is a vast and valuable resource when it comes to attracting new fans.
Sport brings people together through thick and thin, and its ability to connect with fans emotionally is unrivalled. Some might say it’s a universal language. Although the sporting world and the spirits industry mixing with one another isn’t a new phenomenon, this year brands seem to have really picked up the pace with numerous new sporting partnerships cropping up across the board.
From football to Formula One, tennis to golf, brands are buying into the idea that by partnering with major teams and organisations, they can unlock a whole new level of opportunity, and fanbase.
While there have been many, we’ve selected the 10 that we consider to be the best sport and spirits link ups from 2024. Read on for the full list.
Nemiroff – Aston Villa FC and West Ham United FC
Ukraine’s Nemiroff has caught a severe case of football fever over the past month, inking deals to become the official vodka sponsor of two English Premier League (EPL) teams, Aston Villa and West Ham.
Nemiroff has aspirations of becoming a top five vodka brand and considering the amount of eyeballs England’s top-flight division attracts, the partnerships will surely help the brand on its way, as Nemiroff’s marketing assets will be visible at both clubs’ home grounds; Villa Park for Aston Villa, and The London Stadium, for West Ham.
CEO Yuriy Sorochynskiy said that the partnership with Aston Villa “reflects our global ambitions and unwavering dedication to excellence,” while for West Ham, he called the link-up a “thrilling next step for Nemiroff as we continue to showcase the bold character of Ukrainian craftsmanship on the world stage.”
The two clubs are slated to next meet on 26 January – we’d guess Nemiroff, as the neutral, are just hoping for a great game of football on that one.
Tequila Enemigo – Fulham FC
Another brand to be enchanted by the thrills of English football is Tequila Enemigo, which became the first Tequila to sponsor an EPL club following its partnership with west London-based Fulham in October.
Fulham has recently added greater capacity to its home ground Craven Cottage through its new Riverside stand, while the area around the stadium has also seen the emergence of a ‘dazzling’ new food and drink hub, Riverside Market, which should bring in punters all-year-round with Enemigo’s branded bar.
These developments are “very attractive to us”, co-founder Max Gilbert-Davies said to The Spirits Business. “From our first time at Craven Cottage, before we had even properly started discussing any kind of partnership, the sense of community that you feel within those very historic stands, especially, we felt at home.”
On match days all bars at the Cottage will serve exclusive Enemigo cocktails. “Fulham themselves have been extremely open to leveraging us to make the experience as great as they can,” Gilbert-Davies added.
“I think Enemigo can do the hard work to turn Fulham fans into Enemigo fans.”
Perhaps the brand’s biggest challenge could be convincing match-goers to swap out their pints for a half-time Margarita…
Grey Goose – US Open Tennis
Moving over to tennis, and rackets, yellow balls and… cocktails, Grey Goose aced its partnership with the US Open Tennis Tournament, which is now its 18th year, once again proving to be a fruitful affair.
The vodka brand’s signature Honey Deuce cocktail, created for the US Open, made headlines – pouring 556,000 serves of the cocktail and surpassing $12.8m in sales, going onto become a ‘symbol of the tournament’ – and its campaign with US men’s star Frances Tiafoe saw some good fortune after he battled into the semi-finals.
Off-court and around the grounds, Grey Goose put in an impressive performance too; the vodka hosted branded cocktail bars in four locations on site at Flushing Meadows, while an out-of-home (OOH) spot for the Tiafoe campaign flashed across New York’s Time Square.
Aleco Azqueta, Grey Goose North America vice-president of marketing, said: “A large part of our marketing strategy is bringing our high-quality vodka to experiences and events where our consumers’ passions intersect with moments of celebration and joy, as exemplified by the US Open.”
1800 Tequila – Los Angeles FC
Proximo Spirits-owned Tequila brand 1800 has also found its feet in football, or soccer as it is known in the US, with its collaboration as the Official Tequila Partner of Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC).
LAFC, which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) and plays its home fixtures at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, counts the likes of actor Will Ferrell among its part-owners. For 1800’s most recent contribution, the brand has come up with a trophy of its own; a custom bottle of its reposado that features a silicone sleeve with football panels in the team’s black and gold kit colours and its crest in the centre.
When 1800 initially joined LAFC in 2021, Mike Keyes, President and CEO of Proximo Spirits, said: “After seeing tremendous growth in the popularity of the sport with our Tequila-loving consumers, we are honoured to team up with a world-class club that represents the diversity of the city of Los Angeles.”
The 1800 Tequila LAFC Reposado bottle is available for US$32.99 at local retailers in Los Angeles, California.
Dewar’s – US Open Golf Championship
Blended Scotch Dewar’s has partnered with the US Open Golf Championship for four years on the trot now, introducing a limited edition commemorative whisky for each championship its sponsors.
For 2024’s tournament, the 124th, held at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, Dewar’s master blender Stephanie Macleod unveiled Dewar’s 19 Year Old – The Champion’s Edition; showcasing the brand’s signature double ageing process and finished in first-fill rye whisky casks.
Complementing the special edition whisky, the brand also offered a special RTD cocktail exclusively for on-site consumption at the open, named the Lemon Wedge, which attendees could nurse around the course while enjoying the golf. A play on the wedge, the brand doesn’t commercialise the canned cocktail, and uses it to deseasonalise the consumption of Scotch whisky for the summer months – as the tournament is held every June.
On the brand’s interest in golf, Dewar’s North America VP Brian Cox told The Spirits Business: “A lot of the values you find in golf, you find in appreciating fine Scotch whisky. There’s a link between golf and Scotch whisky, like with the land, the terroir and people.
“Today in America, the sport has undergone a massive revival thanks a lot to Covid-19, where before that you had 24 million people participating in golf, or following golf, now it’s closer to 40 million in the US. There tends to be around 8 million super premium whisky drinkers that follow the US Open, so it’s been a great platform for us.”
Chivas Regal – Arsenal FC
It’s raining whisky at the Emirates. Chivas Brothers-owned Chivas Regal’s partnership with Arsenal Football Club seeks to ‘enhance’ the match day experience for Gunners fans, introducing a new Chivas Regal bar within Dial Square, which offers classic cocktails and exclusive Chivas Highballs.
Beyond the bar, the partnership between the pair intends to also take supporters behind the scenes through exclusive content and global live experiences, featuring men’s and women’s first-team players, celebrity supporters, creators and club legends. Chivas Regal kicked off the partnership slinging rounds of Chivas Highballs at local Arsenal pubs before the opening men’s team game of the season against Wolves on 17 August.
The whisky brand will support Arsenal’s men’s and women’s teams, and Nick Balcknel, global marketing director, said the deal is about more than just whisky and football, its about “unlocking a new layer of football culture for fans, both here in the UK and across the globe – extending the experience of the beautiful game we all love far beyond the pitch.”
Chivas Regal – Ferrari F1
Staying with Chivas Regal, the whisky brand’s sporting passion have extended outside of football, as last week the brand turned to motorsport and Ferrari’s Formula One team.
As the Scuderia Ferrari HP Formula One team’s official team partner, Chivas Regal will work alongside the racing team to a shine a light on ‘off-track life’ – telling stories of teamwork that leads to Ferrari’s success, and providing fans with behind-the-scenes access that showcases a new take on the world of motorsports.
While the partnership is designed to bring the sport closer to racing enthusiasts, it will also be used by Chivas Regal to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving – with an integrated campaign tackling this issue, to launch next year.
Jean-Etienne Gourgues, chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers, makers of Chivas Regal, said: “This partnership marks a significant gear shift as we accelerate into a new era in sports culture for Chivas Regal.
“We are passionate about using this new platform to engage today’s growing and increasingly diverse community of racing fans in the 2025 season and beyond, and leveraging the collective reach of our brands to ensure motorsports fans around the world know to never, ever, drink and drive.”
Results-wise, the partnership could be a shrewd move too, with Lewis Hamilton set to lineup on the grid alongside Charles Leclerc as drivers for Ferrari next season, having made the switch from Mercedes.
Hennessy – National Basketball Association
Now in its fourth year as the official global spirits partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the world’s best-selling Cognac, Hennessy, has been helping raise the NBA’s profile outside of the States.
In July, this was seen at pop-up at Selfridges Corner Shop in London, where fans could hoop and practise their free throws on a basketball court, pick up Hennessy and NBA-branded sports paraphernalia, and naturally, share share a signature cocktail or a glass of VS Cognac on the rocks at Courtside Bar when all was said and done.
Of course, the partnership is a two-way street and Hennessy also enlisted services of none other than all-timer and four-time NBA champion, and Most Valuable Player (MVP) LeBron James to create a limited edition bottle for its VS expression.
James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and just began his 22nd NBA campaign, said: “As an admirer of Hennessy and its iconic brand, I’ve always appreciated its commitment to basketball and how it celebrates the sport’s influence on and off the court.”
The bottle’s design captures James in an illustrative portrait, with a logo featuring James’ trademark crown. Then additionally, to support the release, James created a twist on Hennessy’s Margarita recipe, adding orange juice to the traditional blend of Cognac, lime juice, orange liqueur and agave syrup.
Buffalo Trace – Premiership Rugby
In September, Buffalo Trace Bourbon became the first whiskey to become a spirits partner of Premiership Rugby, when it struck a partnership deal with the English Rugby Union competition.
The brand recommended fans to ‘embrace the thrill of the sport with a Bourbon in hand’ with Laura Edwards, managing director of Buffalo Trace UK, pointing to the partnership as providing an “incredible platform” for its growth in the UK.
Sharing the similarities between rugby and Bourbon, Edwards added: “The devoted energy of rugby fans and the toughness of its players echoes the legacy of Buffalo Trace, which is uncompromising, perseverance and independence.”
Fans in attendance will find Buffalo Trace in the league across England in both hospitality and food and drink concessions as the sole in-stadium Bourbon pour; neat, on ice or as a Buffalo Trace & Ginger cocktail. Moreover, there’ll be activations and exclusive player content throughout the season, courtesy of Buffalo Trace.
The Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final will be played on 14 June 2025.
Tincup – Colorad0 Avalanche
Tincup’s sporting allegiances lie with the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Colorado Avalanche.
The brand is supporting its second season as the team’s official whiskey with a limited edition bottle and a signature serve to boot. Sorting the beverage offering for ice hockey fans watching home, perhaps even at a watch party, the ‘puck drop’ cocktail can be made from: 56ml Tincup American Whiskey; 142ml Ginger Ale; one Puck Drop ice mould; and a hockey stick drink stirrer for garnish.
As for the Limited Edition Official Tin Cup Avalanche Whiskey bottle, marked with Avalanche graphics, those residing in Colorado can pick it up for US$24.99 at local retailers.
Tincup is an American whiskey made from a blend of Bourbon and Colorado single malt, bottled at an elevation of 5,251 feet and cut with pure Rocky Mountain spring water. The Avalanche, meanwhile, won the Stanley Cup in 2022, their third Stanley Cup triumph, and like Tincup, also calls Denver home.
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