Restless Spirits Distilling, creating Irish & American inspired products in Kansas City since 2016, takes its restless spirit northeast as an official sponsor of the 2018 World Series Champions Boston Red Sox. As part of the multi-year deal, Restless’s Builders Botanical Gin is now the official gin of the Boston Red Sox and will be showcased throughout historic Fenway Park.
“The Shannon family history in Kansas City goes back over 100 years, as does the Red Sox ties to Boston,” said Mike Shannon, owner and founder of Restless Spirits Distilling. “To be able to merge our family heritage with one of the most iconic baseball franchises in America is incredibly exciting for everyone at Restless. We can’t wait to introduce Builders Botanical Gin to all of the passionate and spirited Red Sox fans across New England. From a business standpoint, this sponsorship clearly helps us grow our footprint beyond the Midwest. Just like our family stretched their legs to move to Kansas City from Ireland, our entire line of Restless Spirits brands now has a chance to stretch and grow at an accelerated pace across New England thanks to this partnership with the Red Sox.”
The deal between Restless Spirits and the Boston Red Sox was inspired by the presence that Restless currently has at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals. For the 2019 season, Restless sponsors the Builders Craft Cocktail Bar located in the Diamond Club at the stadium and serves signature hand-crafted cocktails.
“The support we’ve received from the Royals and Aramark, and the response from fans, has been incredible,” adds Shannon. “The Royals took a chance on us and we are so appreciative and grateful for the exposure inside Kaufman to open the door to other opportunities.”
“Restless has a passion for creating high quality spirits that fits within our standard of excellence as an organization,” says Red Sox executive vice President Troup Parkinson. “We look forward to introducing Builders Botanical Gin to our fans and welcoming Restless Spirits Distilling to the Red Sox family.
In addition to being named the official gin of the Boston Red Sox, the sponsorship will give Restless Spirits Distilling and Builders Botanical Gin rights to use the official Red Sox logo, signage and exclusive tasting events inside Fenway Park for 2019, as well as in-game local radio spots for 2019 and Red Sox network radio spots starting in 2020. In future years, Restless will have an opportunity to create a Builders Botanical Gin branded space inside Fenway Park.
The marketing territory for the deal includes the six New England states of Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and part of Connecticut, leading to distribution expansion. Distribution of the Restless product line across Massachusetts will be handled by Burke Distributing Corp. in Randolph, MA.