Vassal Benford, CEO and chairman of The B.B. King Estate, The B.B. King Music Company and the Family Trust, announced the launch of the B.B. King Life Legacy Initiative, which was previewed at The King of Blues’ Birthday Party at Resorts World Las Vegas. While celebrating the blues and guitar legend B.B. King’s 98th birthday in grand style, Benford revealed several new partnerships, retail products and brand concepts, with the first announced project being an inaugural line of bourbon and whiskey from Heritage Distillery Company(HDC) .
“Eric Mitchell, Grandson of B.B. King, Patty King; Daughter of B.B. and all the family members: Shirley King, Claudette Robinson King, Willie King, Krystal Young, and Barbara King are pleased to announce this global launch of these exciting new initiatives,” said Vassal Benford, Manager and Chairman of The B.B. King Music Company. “We are thrilled to announce this partnership today with Heritage Distilling and look forward to rolling out the other projects already in development around B.B. and his special brand of blues.”
At the initiative launch party celebrating Mr. King’s 98th birthday, Benford formally announced a new partnership with Heritage Distilling — the most-awarded craft distillery by the American Distilling Institute for the last decade — for an exclusive line of King-branded spirits.
“On behalf of the 140 employees at Heritage Distilling Company, we are honored that the B.B. King Estate and B.B. King Music Company chose us to partner on the release of these specially created bourbons and whiskeys to celebrate the life and legacy of one of the greatest guitar players of all time,” said Justin Stiefel, CEO and Co-Founder of Heritage Distilling. “At Heritage Distilling, we say, ‘Every spirit has a story,’ I know that B.B. King’s music has inspired countless stories, memories and experiences for millions of fans and budding guitarists worldwide.”
The B.B. King Life Legacy Initiative honors the legend of B.B. King, one of the greatest guitarists of all time. It illustrates the wide impact King has had on artists from various genres across the world, such as Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, Richie Sambora, Slash, and more.
