How Tennessee and Alabama football fans can boost NIL by drinking an Iowa vodka | Toppmeyer

Passionate college football fans will do whatever it takes to give their team a leg up on the competition. If they can achieve that while sipping a cocktail, all the better.

Reaching for a team-branded vodka to mix in a Bloody Mary, screwdriver or Moscow mule during the morning tailgate should appeal to fans who want their pregame boozin’ to help supply cash to the cause.

Foundry Distilling Company in West Des Moines, Iowa, has partnered with multiple NIL collectives in the SEC and Big Ten to produce custom vodkas that rep school spirit with tailored branding while directly contributing to the school's collective.

Collectives at Tennessee, Alabama, Iowa and Ohio State have announced partnerships with Foundry, and there’s more in the works, said Foundry’s founder Scott Bush. The collective will receive 25% of sales revenues, Bush said. That’s money the collective can use toward NIL deals with athletes.

Foundry’s vodkas are 100% corn, pot-distilled spirits. Some other American vodkas, like Tito’s, are also corn vodkas, as compared to wheat vodkas from Europe, like Ketel One or Grey Goose.

The corn mash gives Foundry’s vodka “a nice little sweetness to it,” Bush said.

Suggested retail price is $24.99, making it a bit higher than Tito’s, the popular vodka distilled in Austin, Texas.

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But, fans who sip on The Volunteer Club (Tennessee), Yea Alabama, Swarm Vodka (Iowa) or The Foundation (Ohio State) can enjoy their cocktail knowing they’re boosting their school’s collective.

“We’re not going to ask any current students to endorse the product, whether they’re of legal drinking age or not. We’re not asking for the product to be poured at any of the stadiums,” Bush said. “What we’re really doing is offering a very high-end, great-tasting vodka for fans.

“When they make their game-day Bloody Marys, why in the world would they be drinking a product made in Austin, Texas, when they can enjoy a product that they know directly supports their student-athletes?”

Bush is a native of Wall Lake, Iowa. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa before getting an MBA from MIT.

Bush’s dad ran track at Iowa, and when collectives began springing up two years ago after the NCAA started allowing athletes to profit off their NIL, Bush saw an opportunity to pair his product with opportunities that would help athletes. Collectives pool resources from fans and boosters to make deals with athletes.

Foundry’s core product is its Private Barrel Club. The distillery works with individuals and groups from around the country to develop small, unique brands, one barrel at a time. That private-barrel experience positioned Foundry to collaborate with collectives for bespoke spirits.

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Could a Vols fan taste the difference between The Volunteer Club and its rival’s vodka, Yea Alabama? While the flavor profile for the vodkas are “incredibly similar,” each collective’s vodka is individualized, Bush said.

“Our production team filters them all uniquely, so each one is truly a unique product,” he said, “but they’re all from the same base vodka.”

The goal is creating a fine-tasting spirit fans can drink with pride, while knowing their cocktails are helping the collective.

Bush previously founded Templeton Rye, a popular whiskey. So, can we expect Foundry to partner with collectives on some whiskeys?

“We certainly would be interested to do some whiskey collections,” Bush said. “We have a good supply of very high-end whiskeys.

“There’s so many different avenues to go down with these collectives. There’s so much history, there’s so much pride, that doing some different limited-release whiskeys, I think, would be a lot of fun, and fans would really appreciate them.”

Until then, it's a Bloody Mary fueled by school spirits.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee, Alabama football fans can boost NIL by drinking Foundry vodka