Clyde May's Bourbon

Today, Clyde May's Whiskey continues to be made from the same recipe that Kenneth's father perfected nearly 50 years ago — a mash of corn, rye and malted barley. Once the grains are distilled, they are aged in oak barrels for an average of five to six years. In April 2004, the State of Alabama designated Clyde May's Conecuh Ridge Alabama Style Whiskey as the "official state spirit." The whiskey also earned the Gold Medal at the WSWA Tasting Competition and the MicroLiquor Spirits Awards in 2012. In addition, it was named one of the Top 50 Spirits of 2012 by Wine Enthusiast, which gave it a score of 93 points. Clyde May's Whiskey has a soft, gentle flavor, and sweet notes of honey, caramel and apple that continue to pay homage to its namesake.

After serving in World War II, legend has it that Clyde May returned to his native Alabama to raise his eight children and tend to the farm that he had purchased before the war began. Like many farmers at the time, Clyde would distill the excess grains he harvested into corn whiskey — "branch-farming," he liked to call it. From the 1950s to the 1980s, May managed to produce nearly 300 gallons of whiskey a week just southeast of Montgomery in a still that he had designed and built himself. While much of May's whiskey was sold unaged, a portion of the whiskey he produced was aged in charred oak casks into which dried apples were dropped in order to enhance the flavor.