“We’re doing things like name in lights at Radio City Music Hall, on the sleeve of Wrexham jerseys, media value in the 20s, 30s, 40 millions of dollars for zero dollars. You have to show up like a brand that’s been around for 10 years or 100 years and compete on their level without the money and the resources that those brands have,” McElhenney said.

The Four Walls branding appears on the sleeve of the training kit for Welsh club Wrexham FC, co-owned by McElhenney and Reynolds. The team exploded in popularity in the U.S. thanks to the FX documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, recently renewed for Season 3.

“Wrexham is such a great example of the power of storytelling, and where do you tell your best stories? At the bar,” said Kelsey Trainor, chief strategy officer of McElhenney’s company. “It was always part of the plan for Wrexham and Four Walls to merge together, but we saw an opportunity for it to happen a little bit sooner.”

Part of Four Walls’ rapid growth comes from the popularity of Always Sunny, with Howerton saying that viewers have bought the whiskey because they’re fans of the show, even if they aren’t whiskey drinkers.

“We look at this as a creative endeavor, in the same way that It’s Always Sunny is a creative endeavor,” Howerton said. “We’ve been building a business together for the last 20 years, and it just happened to be a TV show and not a whiskey.”

According to Howerton, the show takes its relationship with fans seriously, so delivering a quality brand was imperative.

“It’s another reason why it was very important to create a product that was good,” Howerton said. “We’ve built up a tremendous amount of goodwill with our fans through the years, and we don’t want to take advantage of that in a negative way.”

And while It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has not yet resumed production following the end of the Hollywood strikes, the show has been renewed for Season 17 and 18—making it the longest-running live action sitcom in U.S. TV history.