FU All the Time, which is a favorite cheer of the Furman University Paladins, is that private-label straight bourbon whiskey.
FU All the Time debuted at a recent launch party for the “Clearly Furman Campaign” on campus, where that campaign has a goal of raising $426 million by the university’s bicentennial in 2026.
“The launch of the Clearly Furman Campaign was an exciting time, with hundreds of alumni and donors and other friends on campus,” said Elizabeth Lichtenberg, senior director of brand strategy and visual communications for Furman, in a prepared statement. “We thought FU All the Time bourbon would be popular, and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it.”
Lichtenberg manages licensing opportunities for the university, and she said she was pitched the idea of a bourbon in 2022 through Affinity Licensing, a university partner. “They brought Ironclad Distillery in Newport News, Virginia, to the table, and the bourbon was born, along with a new way to share Furman’s brand.”
A small group of FU employees got a preview of the spirits last May and gave it a thumbs up, along with the idea for the name. The label was designed by Furman graphic designer Chris Turner.
“’FU All the Time’ really resonates with alumni as well as faculty and staff,” Lichtenberg said.
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She explained that the cheer was made famous by two former Furman presidents … as the story goes, Gordon Blackwell started the phrase in the 1960s, and John E. Johns amplified it, literally, as he would do the cheer with a megaphone at the big games. “Joseph Vaughn, Furman’s first black undergraduate student and a Furman cheerleader, is also said to have had a hand in popularizing the beloved cheer,” she added.
Zach Wheeler with Aleph Wines, the distributor for South Carolina, called the new bourbon “super clean. It really is everyone’s bourbon.”
“It’s smooth and fruity on the front end, with a little bit of grain. It goes into a baked goods, biscuit flavor on the back of the tongue and ends with the rye bite that mellows out the 100 proof,” Wheeler said.
FU All the Time straight bourbon whiskey is available online and in liquor stores and restaurants across the South Carolina region, with more distribution coming soon. It has a suggested retail price of $83.69.
For more information, check out www.ironcladdistillery.com/store/fu-all-the-time.
