Knob Creek Bourbon has recruited professional poker players Howard Lederer and Erick Lindgren to promote the brand's new mission. Team Knob Creek will represent the hard liquor brand at the 2005 World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker as part of its "drink smart, play smart" campaign.

The sponsorship is part of a 1 year deal signed between the 2 players and Knob Creek, which is affiliated with Jim Beam. Lederer and Lindgren will promote the liquor brand as part of its mission to encourage sensible drinking and gambling.

Larry Plawsky, senior director of super-premium brands at Jim Beam Brands Co., stated in a press release, "More than 50 million adult consumers of legal-purchase age play poker and 12 million more watch it on television...As one of the first major consumer brands to endorse poker professionals, we are thrilled to be getting in on the ground floor."