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A partnership was announced this week between Eric LeGrand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Rutgers Athletics.

As NJBIZ has reported, LeGrand and co-founder Brian Axelrod, a spirits entrepreneur, launched the liquor brand earlier this year, marking the next step in the former’s burgeoning business journey, which also includes LeGrand Coffee House, “A Cup of bELieve Podcast,” and much more.

The partnership makes Eric LeGrand Bourbon the first spirits brand to become a partner of Rutgers Athletics.

Under the terms of the multiyear partnership, the spirit will be featured at Rutgers Athletics sporting events and will be available at select hospitality areas at SHI Stadium and Jersey Mike’s Arena, where adult attendees will be able to enjoy LeGrand Bourbon on the rocks or in specialty cocktails.

“Rutgers University made me who I am today,” said LeGrand. “Having played on the SHI Stadium field during college to having my brand sold in the suites at the stadium makes me proud. I’m very excited to be a proud partner of Rutgers Athletics.”

“Eric is one of the greatest ambassadors for Rutgers Athletics,” said Lisa Tirrell, associate athletic director, brand marketing and development. “He continues to serve as an inspiration and the philanthropic component of his Eric LeGrand Bourbon sales shows the positive impact he continues to make towards the greater good.”

That philanthropic component Tirrell referred to is a pledge by LeGrand and Axelrod to donate $5.20 of every case sold of the bourbon to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to help find a cure to paralysis, an effort LeGrand has vehemently supported since the tragic 2010 injury that left him paralyzed while playing football for Rutgers.

“You’ve got to have an actual purpose,” LeGrand told NJBIZ earlier this year, explaining the thought process behind the donation, which also pays homage to the No. 52 he donned as a Scarlet Knight. “There has to be a reason.”

“With your story and your drive, you’ll be a great spokesperson for the brand,” Axelrod recalled to NJBIZ earlier this year, as he explained the development process of the bourbon brand along with LeGrand. “I’ll use my expertise to develop a great product to make sure the liquid is right. But I said the one thing we have to do is put your name on the bottle. This is your story. This is your legacy that will live on, hopefully longer than he and I are on this earth. And his story can continue to be told through a bottle of liquor. It’s going to be told through a cup of coffee. It can be told through a T-shirt, through a charity event. Now it can also be told through a bottle of bourbon.”

Eric LeGrand Bourbon is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon, distilled in Owensboro, Ky., and bottled in Bardstown, Ky. It is created with quality heartland corn, limestone, purified water, and the freshest rye and barley available, aged no less than two years in charred oak barrels; boasting a warm nose and a smooth, crisp finish. The bourbon, which is distributed by Elizabeth-based Allied Beverage Group, is available for purchase at liquor stores here in the great Garden State as well as online.

“My recovery journey has mirrored that of my bourbon. Both take precision, patience, and trust in the process,” LeGrand said when it launched in March. “Eric LeGrand Bourbon offers a way for those who are living with paralysis and those who are not impaired by it, to enjoy sipping on a quality bourbon, while coming together to support a foundation that gives back to anyone impacted by this condition.”

And now Eric LeGrand Bourbon will be able to be enjoyed during athletic events at his alma mater, Rutgers, a true Jersey come-full-circle-moment. Cheers.