Whether it’s food or music, a good collaboration combines the best of both worlds—think chocolate and peanut butter, or Jay-Z and Linkin Park. When done right, these partnerships can pull in fans from either side, but are especially appealing to those who appreciate both parties. The same is true in the world of spirits, where new releases drive sales and a good team-up can substantially increase an existing audience.

Sports Partnership Potential

The goal of a collab is to drum up excitement, and that has certainly been the case this spring as spirits brands in all categories have announced commemorative releases for the forthcoming World Cup, which is hosted this year by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Diageo serves as an official tournament sponsor, and this past March the global spirits giant announced the release of a limited-edition green-and-gold Don Julio 1942, along with a series of Buchanan’s bottles designed by LA-based brand Kids of immigrants. Both releases commemorate the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“Sports collaborations and crossover releases help Buchanan’s show up in culture in a way that goes beyond traditional spirits marketing,” said Jesse Damasheck, whiskey portfolio SVP North America for Diageo. “With this collection, we’re creating a bridge between sport, music, fashion, and lifestyle that feels real, not imposed. It’s not about inserting ourselves into culture, but about meeting consumers where they are already living and creating and finding ways to tap into that identity authentically.”

Dameasheck acknowledged the way that Buchanan’s has been embraced by the Latino community, making the World Cup a perfect crossover opportunity. But there are other non-Diageo brands on the pitch as well. Clase Azul released a commemorative “Spirit of Champions” bottle priced at $1,700 (not officially affiliated with the World Cup, but inspired by it). On the other end of the price spectrum, Bacardi is releasing a limited edition gold rum featuring a soccer ball on the label at just $13. Kansas City’s J. Rieger & Co distillery is capitalizing on its role as a host city with a “Raise the Cup” edition of its Kansas City Whiskey, priced at $48.

Collabs Beyond the Cup

It’s clear there’s a lot of hype heading into the 2026 World Cup, but does that same excitement exist for these limited edition bottles? And, more broadly speaking, what is the market’s appetite for a sporty spirit?

Beyond the Raise the Cup bottle, J. Rieger president Andry Rieger estimates that the distillery has worked on at least a dozen sports collaborations, including a commemorative whiskey to celebrate Kansas winning the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball championship, and two vodkas celebrating the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl in 2022 and 2023. One challenge, he said, is that despite category troubles, beer remains the go-to drink for fans, especially when they are at stadiums watching games.

In many ways, beer brands are the more logical partner for sports teams—there is a contextual familiarity, and beer’s lower ABV lends it to more sessionable consumption and larger sales volume. Fans do not consume spirits the same way they do beer, even if both products are catering to fandom in similar ways. “Right around the start of COVID, sports teams started viewing spirits [in the same way]  as beer,” Rieger said, calling his brand a guinea pig of sorts for sports and spirits collaborations. One lesson he’s learned along the way is to make these collaborations limited rather than year-round offerings.

Another lesson: there needs to be something special about the bottle or the spirit. He referenced a barrel of 10-year-old whiskey made with champagne yeast that was distilled the day after the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series, and is just being bottled now. “It’s [about] finding those moments of enjoyment, but not making things consistent and persistent,” he said. “Collaboration projects are fun, but they get stale.”

Surprisingly, Rieger is not so enthusiastic about sports collaborations in general, unless it's a commemorative limited release. “Then it’s clear and obvious what the purpose of it is,” he said. The Raise The Cup edition, for example, is part of an effort to welcome visitors to the city and guide them to landmarks, restaurants, and bars during their stay. Rieger talks about making a lasting impression with these collaborations and using them as a way to capture new drinkers while allowing the quality of the whiskey to bring them back for more.

In this way, spirits pegged to specific events like a tournament or championship function better than simply licensing a team's logo. Either the moment or the spirit needs to have impact and to convey something special—and smart partnerships can do that. “Sports teams so often treat them not as collaborations, but as sponsorships,” Rieger said. “There needs to be more partnership.”

Kentucky Bourbon Enters the Picture

Partnership was central to Elijah Craig’s 2025 Ryder Cup Small Batch release, a bourbon finished for eight weeks with toasted sugar maple and applewood staves. Elijah Craig was the official sponsor of the Ryder Cup and has a team of golf ambassadors including PGA pros J.T. Poston and Robert MacIntyre. 

“We believe the most effective sports collaborations are rooted in shared values, not just visibility,” said Max Stefka, assistant vice president of global whiskey brands at Heaven Hill. Collector status is earned when a collaboration transcends marketing and becomes culturally or emotionally meaningful. From a sports perspective, moments matter.

In other words, the products become a time-stamp of occasions that the consumer is already passionate about. “When a collaboration reflects both the heritage of the sport and the heritage of the brand, it resonates more deeply, and that’s what drives collectability,” Stefka said. 

While Elijah Craig found success innovating with its Ryder Cup collaboration, there is value in label-driven releases as well. According to Julian Garcia, VP of marketing for Tequila Don Julio, early response to the brand’s World Cup release, which has been available for pre-sale since February, has centered on the bottle’s design and its appeal as a collectible item. 

Woodford Reserve has found similar success with its annual Kentucky Derby bottle, which taps a different artist each year to design a custom label. These bottles become collectible for their visual artistry as well as their limited availability, and in terms of celebrating a moment, they have become fixtures of Derby parties in Kentucky and beyond.

“The Derby bottle is absolutely a centerpiece at Derby parties, whether someone is mixing Mint Juleps or Spires or pouring it neat for guests,” said Woodford Reserve master distiller Elizabeth McCall. “But it's also a collector's item that people proudly display. We've been releasing these bottles since 1999, with a new artist and design each year for many fans, it's become a tradition to add the latest edition to their collection. It really lives in both worlds.”

And that is the true sweet spot for sports and spirit collaborations—they serve as collectors items for some and as a celebratory focal point for others. These bottles mark occasions, reminding you with their presence of memories shared, and, if you’re lucky, championships won. So will these World Cup bottles be collectible? It depends on who lifts the trophy and what that means to you in the end.