13 Years After Being Paralyzed in a College Football Game, Eric LeGrand Launches Whiskey Brand
(Photo: Eric LeGrand Whiskey)
Eric LeGrand, the former Rutgers football player who was paralyzed while making a tackle during a game in 2010, has launched a whiskey brand, TMZ reported Wednesday.
The 32-year-old, who is paralyzed from the neck down, is kicking off Eric LeGrand Whiskey with a Kentucky straight bourbon, which is available from the brand’s online shop for $44.99 per bottle.
“I wanted to create a brand of something that represents me, which I feel like whiskey is the perfect thing that represents me,” LeGrand told TMZ. “It takes patience, it is something that’s tough, strong and something that you celebrate life to.”
LeGrand has partnered with Brian Axelrod, whose résumé includes experience with Beam, D’USSÉ and Conor McGregor’s Irish whiskey brand, Proper No. Twelve.
LeGrand wasn’t sure how much he would like the bourbon — until he tasted it.
“I’m thinking this is about to taste like rubbing alcohol, it’s gonna be terrible,” he said, according to TMZ. “I took a sip and I’m like hold up, let me get a little bit more. I took another sample and I’m like whoa. I’m like, we got something special here. This is perfect.”
LeGrand has his eye on changing a misconception with the brand.
“A lot of times people see someone in a wheelchair with a disability, they think they can’t enjoy alcohol and other things, and I’m like that’s totally not true, and I wanted to end that stigma,” he said.
According to TMZ, Eric LeGrand Whiskey will donate $5.20 for every case that it sells to the Christopher & Dana Reeves Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to curing spinal cord injury.
Eric LeGrand Kentucky Straight Bourbon is bottled at 88 proof. According to NJ.com, the whiskey is distilled in Owensboro (likely at Green River), bottled in Bardstown and aged two years in charred oak barrels. It is available now in New Jersey, New York and Kentucky. Other states are expected to receive distribution soon, as well.
This isn’t LeGrand’s first business venture. In 2022, he opened LeGrand Coffee House in New Jersey.
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