The Louisville Bats, Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, will play a game as the Louisville Mashers May 26, an homage to the city’s affinity for bourbon. The team will commemorate Cheers to Bourbon Night with specialty uniforms and a bourbon-based logo designed by Brandiose.
Per the team, “The name Mashers refers to the first step in the bourbon-making process; the cooking and fermentation of grains called mash.”
The mascot is a bourbon barrel with (bloodshot?) eyes holding a baseball bat in one muscular arm and a bag of corn mash in the other—”representing the 51% corn mash required to classify whiskey as bourbon,” the team explains.
The Bats will give away Mashers bourbon glasses to the first 1,000 fans 21 and older at the game. And anyone holding a glass is faced with the biggest debate in the world of bourbon—whether you should drink it with ice. As such, the team is asking fans to tweet the #LouisvilleMashers hashtag and then pick a side, #teamneat or #teamrocks.
The Mashers will take the field Saturday, May 26, against the Durham Bulls.