BOURBON MAKERS CROSS OVER INTO APPAREL FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Let’s drink to holiday dressing! Two leading bourbon brands are adding their own special notes to the season this year.

Maker’s Mark is partnering with The Endery, a knitwear brand that creates knits from deadstock yarn, to launch a group of limited-edition holiday sweaters. The handcrafted items are available in a variety of distinctive designs, based on vintage pattern books. Those same patterns will be used to warm up limited-edition Maker’s Mark holiday bottles. Each sweater is handcrafted in Peru utilizing deadstock materials, specifically alpaca wool yarn that has been discarded or recycled and would have otherwise gone to waste.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Maker’s Mark to release a line of limited-edition holiday sweaters,” said Kelly Phenicie and Ellen Saville, founders of The Endery. “The Endery has been at the forefront of innovative knitwear, slow fashion, and playful prints, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with a brand that shares the same belief and passions that we do.”

Priced at $250 per sweater, all sales from the bespoke knitwear will go directly back to The Endery’s workers in Peru to improve their facilities and safeguard the indigenous knitters’ traditional craft, amplifying the positive impact for their communities. They are currently available for purchase at The Endery’s website.

Jim Beam is offering a more — shall we say scientific? — alternative for the season. A Kentucky Hug is, according to the Urban Dictionary, the warm feeling you get from drinking bourbon. (It can also be that uncomfortably long embrace that we come to expect from certain family members who have maybe already been hitting the bottle). Well, if you can’t be with the ones you love this holiday season, Jim Beam is offering “Kentucky Hug” limited-edition holiday pajama sets that are equipped with a built-in “hug simulator.”

The unisex PJs feature a red flannel holiday-inspired design and are sold in a range of sizes from small to 2XL. The “hug simulation” is created by applying weighted pressure on specific points around the neck, shoulders, and back to replicate the feeling of an in-person hug. The perfect gift for anyone you can’t squeeze in real life!

“Gathering together, celebrating family traditions and spending quality time with those you love – especially during the holidays – is at the core of the Jim Beam brand,” said Sarah Cordova, Jim Beam Senior Brand Manager, North America Marketing. “We want to foster that spirit of connection despite the barriers we might face this time of year. Whether it’s your best friend from college or a long-distance relative, we hope you share the gift of a Kentucky Hug.”

Visit JimBeamKentuckyHug to purchase the Jim Beam Kentucky Hug Pajamas, selling for $24.99, while supplies last.