Conecuh Ridge Whiskey, officially marketed as Clyde May's Conecuh Ridge Alabama Style Whiskey, is a recreation of a high-quality aged moonshine whiskey which was produced illegally in Alabama during the mid to late 20th century. In 2004 it was designated the official "State Spirit" of Alabama by legislative resolution. Later the same year the company's founder Kenny May was charged with several violations of Alabama liquor laws, to which he pled guilty. After a 15 month period where the whiskey was unavailable for purchase in Alabama, it can now be purchased from Alabama Crown Distributor. Image File history File linksMetadata Conecuh_ridge_whiskey_bottle. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Conecuh_ridge_whiskey_bottle. ... Shine Road The name tells the history of this back road in Hemingway, South Carolina Revenue men at the site of moonshine stills, Kentucky, 1911 or before Moonshining is the making of whiskey surreptitiously and illegally. ... Whisky (or whiskey) is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, often including malt, which has then been aged in wooden barrels. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Montgomery Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,423 sq mi  (135,775 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Whisky (or whiskey) is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, often including malt, which has then been aged in wooden barrels. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Montgomery Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,423 sq mi  (135,775 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ...

History

The History of Conecuh Ridge Whiskey begins with Clyde May, a legendary Alabama moonshiner and bootlegger. From the 1950s to the 1980s Clyde managed to produce around 300 gallons a week in a still of his own design in the woods near Almeria, Alabama in Bullock County, southeast of Montgomery. His product was known for its high quality relative to typical moonshine. According to his son, Kenny, the reason was his painstaking insistence on using the best equipment he could fabricate and taking extra steps during production to maintain the purity and quality of the product. While much of it was sold, unaged, as corn liquor, a certain amount would be casked in charred barrels with a couple of dried apples for flavor. This would be aged for about 1 year. Clyde claimed that the hot Alabama summers accelereated the effect of aging, requiring only one year instead of the minimum of two given to Kentucky Bourbons. This would be bottled and given to friends and valued customers as "Christmas Whiskey". Always operating outside the state liquor laws, Clyde May served an 18-month sentence at Maxwell Air Force Base in 1973. He gave up his cell to the man who convicted him, Attorney General John N. Mitchell, who was convicted in 1974 on charges from the Watergate scandal. The 1950s were a decade that spanned the years 1950 through 1959. ... MacGyver is one of the symbols of the 1980s in America The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... Bullock County, Alabama is a county of the State of Alabama. ... Montgomery skyline from the banks of the Alabama River Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama. ... Maxwell Air Force Base (offically known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force facility near Montgomery, Alabama. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Mitchell (far left) meeting with Nixon, J. Edgar Hoover, and John Ehrlichman on May 26, 1971. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... The term Watergate refers to a series of events, spanning from 1972 to 1974, that began with U.S. President Nixons administrations abuse of power toward the goal of undermining political opposition in the public anti-war movement and the Democratic Party. ...

When Clyde May died in 1990 his son Kenny began looking for a way to honor his father's memory by producing legal whiskey from his recipe. Careful planning led to a production run of 4000 bottles of Conecuh Ridge in 2002. Though Conecuh Brands' offices were in Union Springs, the actual distiller for the first batches was Kentucky Bourbon Distillery of Bardstown, Kentucky, overseen by master distiller Even Kulsveen. Under contract from Conecuh Brands they produced the mash using Conecuh Ridge spring water trucked in from Alabama and distilled the product in oak barrels before bottling and returning it to Alabama for distribution. This article is about the year. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... Union Springs is a city located in Bullock County, Alabama. ... Bardstown is a city located in Nelson County, Kentucky. ...

In April 2004, both houses of the Alabama legislature voted to override the veto of Governor Bob Riley and adopted a resolution, now known as Act of Alabama 2004-97 naming "Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey" the "official state spirit". For a few months it was sold in Alabama's 147 ABC State Liquor Stores and privately-owned package stores in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. During 2004, citing distribution difficulties and limited demand for the boutique-priced liquor, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board stopped stocking Conecuh Ridge in its stores, but would still take special-orders for customers who requested it. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Renfroe Bob Riley (born October 3, 1944) is an American politician in the Republican Party. ...

In December 2004, state liquor agents charged Kenny May with misdemeanor violations in two counties. He pled guilty to charges of selling liquor without a license, possessing excessive quantities of liquor in a dry county, and selling alcohol to a minor. The Control Board immediately moved to revoke Conecuh Ridge's distribution licence, meaning that once stores sold out of their existing stock, the state's official spirit could no longer be sold in Alabama. It is presumed that when the legislature begins its next session, that the "State Spirit" resolution will also be repealed.

May's stock is being held in trust pending the outcome of his trial. The company, now headed by attorney Alva Lambert, may choose to reorganize and resume business with a new license. As of July 2005, no such plans have been announced.

Character

Conecuh Ridge is described as an "Alabama Style Tippling Whiskey", a rather imprecise designation which basically means that it's patterned after the spirits that would have been available at informal "tippling houses". Spring water from Alabama is added to a corn, wheat and rye mash, such as is used to make Bourbon whiskey. It is then aged for four years in caramel-charred white oak barrels. A blind pig, also known as a blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally provides alcoholic beverages. ... Bourbon bottle, 19th century Bourbon is an American form of whiskey made from (pursuant to U.S. trade law) at least 51% corn, or maize, (typically about 70%) with the remainder being wheat, rye, and malted barley. ...

The result is a 90-proof light-bodied sweetish red whiskey considered welcoming to novice drinkers, but not much of a challenge to the palates of Bourbon connoissuers. Alcoholic proof is a measure of how much ethanol is in an alcoholic beverage, and is approximately twice the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV, the unit that is commonly used presently). ...

References

• Emerson, Bo. "Ala. 'state spirit' is son's tribute to fine moonshiner." Arizona Republic. May 25, 2004.
• Harris, Clay. "Triple take: Alabama's first state spirit." The Auburn Plainsman. March 25, 2004.
• Kuntzman, Gersh. "Crushed Sprits: Why has Alabama banned sales of its official state whiskey? Our columnist investigates." Newsweek. February 28, 2005
• Hall, Wade. Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge: The Clyde May Story. Montgomery, Alabama: New South Books. 2003. ISBN 1-58838-135-8
• Irvin, David. "'Official state spirit' returning to stores." Montgomery Advertiser. May 10, 2006

External links

• Conecuh Ridge Official Site
• Review of Conecuh Ridge for Spirits Review
• The Alabama State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board