• by Danielle Oster , September 1, 2023

Nearly 30 years after his retirement from the NFL, Joe Montana has a new game: whiskey.

The former San Francisco 49ers  quarterback is partnering with The Gold Bar Spirits Company to release the Joe Montana Whiskey Collection this month.

It’s a timely release for the brand, connecting with a local sports hero as the football season gets underway and Gold Bar enters its fourth year as the official whiskey of the San Francisco 49ers.

The effort includes an on-premises element with Montana’s signature “Golden Joe Cocktail” available at the The Gold Bar Visitor Center bar and restaurant.

The collection kicks off with the release of Blend No. 273 -- a number alluding to Montana’s career touchdown passes.  At 82 proof, the American whiskey is made from a three-grain mash of corn, rye and barley. The packaging design pays homage to Montana via a 49ers throwback logo from the '70s and '80s, Joe’s signature, and an illustration depicting Montana’s Super Bowl XXIV.

Next up will be the Montana Blend No.117 – a 95-proof triple cask whiskey aged for 16 years and also known as “Number 16” (which was Montana’s jersey number), set to launch ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays.

Packaging for the collection also includes what the brand describes as “a first-of-its kind innovation” called The Patch, developed with Avery-Dennison. A bottle neck tag includes a wearable, iron-on Joe Montana patch embedded with a near-field-communication chip that, when tapped with a phone, directs consumers to exclusive Joe Montana content. Included: a video of Montana preparing his signature cocktail at the Gold Bar Distillery. The slogan “Tap The Patch” will feature heavily in the brand’s campaign for the collection.