Major League Pickleball has an official bourbon? Yes, and it's made in Memphis

Some might say it's an atypical pairing: pickleball and bourbon.

But for Blue Note Bourbon, it's an ideal match.

On Monday, Memphis-based B.R. Distilling Co. announced its Blue Note as the "official bourbon of Major League Pickleball." The sponsorship will begin at Major League Pickleball's season opener in Atlanta on May 9.

Logan Welk, B.R. Distilling president and chief operating officer, said the partnership began after an event in Tampa, where he was first introduced to the sport and its rapidly growing popularity.

"Everyone was talking about it," he said. "It is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States."

Welk likens the growth of pickleball to the distillery's unprecedented growth since its founding in 2014. The Blue Note Bourbon sponsorship runs through 2026. Over the course of the sponsorship, B.R. Distilling plans to release some specialty bourbons in association with the league, Welk said.

"I'm not a pickleball player, but after this I think I will be," he said.

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The announcement comes on the heels of an already busy calendar year for B.R. Distilling. In July 2023, the company opened a tasting room at 802 Royal Ave. in Memphis' New Chicago neighborhood. In September 2023, B.R. Distilling partnered with Kentucky-based Bardstown Bourbon Co. to expand its production and marketing capabilities. And the company is looking to complete an 80,000-square-foot expansion at its Royal Avenue facility in Memphis this summer, Welk said.

On Tuesday, Blue Note's two flagship brands, Juke Joint and Crossroads, received platinum medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The distillery has continued its winning streak at the competition.

"Every spirit brand likes to speak to the quality of their products; very few have the external affirmation of the world’s most respected blind tasting panel," Welk said. "To do this once was an achievement, twice amazing, and now three times is extraordinary."

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With the award-winning campaign and the marketing exposure its partnership with Major League Pickleball will bring, Welk acknowledged the distillery's national recognition perhaps outpaces its local lore.

"There are fewer people aware of us in our hometown than abroad," he said. He added that the regional and national attention, however, only bodes well for Memphis and sharing the city and distillery's story to a larger audience.

Major League Pickleball will be featured on multiple media channels, Welk said. Last year, ESPN2 covered a portion of the 2023 season. With the sponsorship, Blue Note will be featured at nine events across the 2024 and 2025 season and will have a showcase at Major League Pickleball's VIP hospitality and sponsor village areas at its Atlanta, Miami and first round playoff tournament (in Dallas) this year. The coed league features 22 teams and was founded in 2021.

"Blue Note Bourbon and Major League Pickleball share many of the same core qualities for fans — they are both approachable while also being bold and smooth,” Major League Pickleball CEO Bruce Popko said in a statement.

Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at neil.strebig@commercialappeal.com, 901-426-0679 or via X/Twitter, @neilStrebig.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Major League Pickleball names Blue Note its official bourbon