Ray Lewis in 2013, photo via Wikimedia Commons

Starting today, Donald Trump and Mike Pence will lead the United States of America together for at least the next four years. Retired Ravens great Ray Lewis wanted to make sure they had something to celebrate with, so he’s giving a pair of bottles of his new limited-edition bourbon to the Republican leaders.

Lewis said in a release that he’s “thoroughly impressed with president-elect Trump and his desire to help inner city kids and provide better education opportunities for women. This sentiment came in part from their meeting at Trump Tower in New York last month.

Trump won’t actually be drinking the whiskey. The release noted the offering is “a symbolic gesture of appreciation since Lewis knows that Mr. Trump does not consume alcohol.”

Lewis announced the release of “Ray’s Reserve” in early December. The bourbon has been in the works for four years now and is the first of four spirits being made by his company Daytoon Distributors. Daytoon’s website indicates the others will be “Blue Shark Handmade Vodka,” “Hacienda Chactun Tequila” and a drink called “Summer Storm.”

Each bottle of Lewis’ whiskey will cost $250 and will be available for purchase online starting Feb. 15, according to “Ray’s Reserve” website. All profits from the remaining 98 bottles of whiskey will be used to fund scholarships for needy and resilient female high school students through Lewis’ “It’s My Time to Shine” scholarship and internship program.

All of the bottles are numbered. Two of them, no.’s 001 and 052, will be particularly pricey, with respective price tags of $10,000 and $25,000.

The “Ray’s Reserve” website says to “look back at your accomplishments, revel in your success, and appreciate how far you’ve come.” The days when Donald Trump doesn’t revel in his own success are likely few and far between, so he should be all set with or without the gift of alcohol. Perhaps Pence will follow those instructions today — so long as his wife is with him — and toast to his own success with some of Ray Lewis’ bourbon.

Ethan McLeod is a freelance reporter in Baltimore. He previously worked as an editor for the Baltimore Business Journal and Baltimore Fishbowl. His work has appeared in Bloomberg CityLab, Next City and...