This SC university has launched its own brand of whiskey. Here’s what it’s like and how to get it

Patrick McCreless
·2 min read
2

School spirit has taken on a new meaning at Furman University.

The Greenville-based university recently launched its own brand of straight bourbon whiskey, a Furman press release states. Called FU All the Time, the private-label whiskey is named after a favorite Paladins cheer.

The new bourbon debuted on Saturday at the launch party for the Clearly Furman campaign — a new initiative to raise $426 million by the university bicentennial in 2026.

“We thought FU All the Time bourbon would be popular, and it was a huge hit,” Elizabeth Lichtenberg, senior director of brand strategy and visual communications for Furman, said in the press release. “Everyone loved it. It felt good to be able to offer the Furman Family something new and unique that they can enjoy and take some pride in, and give them a new way to toast and celebrate Furman.”

An image of a straight bourbon whiskey recently launched by Furman University.
An image of a straight bourbon whiskey recently launched by Furman University.

FU All the Time bourbon

The university has partnered with Ironclad Distillery in Newport News, Virginia to produce the bourbon whiskey. FU All the Time is made with corn, wheat and rye from Virginia, along with malted barley. The concoction is then aged in oak barrels from South Carolina for at least three years.

“This is super clean. It really is everyone’s bourbon,” Zach Wheeler with Aleph Wines, the distributor for South Carolina, said in the press release. “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.”

How do you get the bourbon?

FU All the Time straight bourbon whiskey is currently available online and in liquor stores and restaurants across the Upstate, the press release states. The university has plans for statewide distribution soon.

Where does the name originate?

The “FU All the Time” cheer the bourbon was named after was made famous by two former Furman presidents.

“Legend has it that 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,” the press release states. “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.”