State Spirit

Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey

Adopted in 2004.

House Joint Resolution 100 of the 2004 Legislative Session designated Clyde May's family recipe for "special Christmas whiskey", known as Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whisky to be Alabama's Official State Spirit.

The designation was made because "the bourbon, Conecuh Ridge, is produced using pure Alabama water and embodies family pride, independence, entrepreneurial drive, innovation, and respect for the tradition and craftsmanship which is evident in this family tradition."

Sources:
Acts of Alabama 2004-97.

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.

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.

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.

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.