written by Josh Boutwell, Troy Messenger
The journey has been long journey but Alabama’s first legally-licensed distillery for whiskey made from bourbon, Conecuh Ridge Distillery, plans to open in launch in 2024 as the complex located in Troy closes in on its completion.
Conecuh Ridge Distillery will produce the official spirit of state Alabama Clyde May’s Alabama Style Whiskey. The moonshine whiskey became famous by a former moonshiner Clyde May, a native of Alabama.
After serving his country with pride with the army’s 77th Infantry in World War II and earning the Bronze Star and Purple Heart and a Purple Heart Clyde May returned home to Alabama and was regarded for being one of Alabama’s “most sought-after” moonshiners in Alabama. The original still he used to operate was built near Pike County in nearby Bullock County.
After Clyde May passed away in 1990 His brother, Kenny May, launched the legal Clyde May’s Alabama Style Whiskey in 2001 and it was adopted as the official spirit of state Alabama in 2004.
Even though Conecuh Ridge Distillery has bottled and made its products out of the Clyde-May’s native state of Alabama throughout the time, it is set to be returning back to Troy, Ala., when it will open in 2024.
Conecuh Ridge Distillery will produce many products, including Clyde’s Alabama Style Whiskey Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon, Clyde May’s Cask Strength Straight Rye Whiskey and Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
The distillery will include not just the distillery, however, but also bottling facility along with a bar and restaurant as well as the tasting room, shop for retail and a barrelhouse that will keep whisky barrels in the cellar. All of this will be a part of the tours on the Conecuh Ridge Distillery.
The Distillery will generate approximately 50 job opportunities in Pike County once its fully filled to capacity.
Steve May (no relation to Clyde May) serves as Vice General Manager and President for Conecuh Ridge Distillery. Conecuh Ridge Distillery. Before joining Conecuh Ridge, May served as Director of Marketing Operations at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Tennessee.
During his time at the distillery He was in charge of significant expansion in the distillery’s retail guests and sales that grew from 191,000 to nearly 300,000 per year. This growth was also a contributor to the growth of the region. In his time The Jack Daniel’s Distillery poured nearly $25 million into capital improvement to the distillery, and also.
“I was in charge of the marketing for Jack Daniel’s Distillery. one of the biggest tourist places located in Tennessee,” May said. “Before the outbreak it was home to more than 300,000 people taking tours and 190 employees only in the field of marketing. The pandemic had a huge effect on economics in the town and we’re hoping that we’ll see similar results to Troy.”
The distillery will provide five types of tours upon opening, and prices will range from between $20 and $45. Tours begin at Clyde 240, Clyde May’s moonshine-making still that was named after the fact that it required the equivalent of $240 worth of copper to build the still. After learning about the background of May and the Conecuh Ridge Distillery, tourists can tour the entire distillery and learn about the process.
“We will be family-friendly. If you’re bringing your kids, you can go on a trip which doesn’t contain liquor,” May said. “We offer a little of everything happening here. We’re not an attraction for tourists but a complete distillery, with an in-house bottling facility that will create Clyde May’s Whiskey and Conecuh Ridge Whiskey.”
May came to an end, “We’ll be buying local grains produced in Alabama. Our corn will be sourced from farms located in this region. We’ll offer our unused grain, which is highly nutritious to local cattle ranchers.”
Troy Mayor Jason Reeves said that he believed that the distillery could provide a unique tourism experience to Troy.
“The Conecuh Ridge Distillery will be a top tourist location and investment opportunity on Troy’s North Side of Troy,” Reeves said. “It will provide a unique possibility for visitors to Troy and those in a short time that would like to spend an entire weekend or even an excursion to visit our community and Clyde May Brands’ production. I am certain that it will be an incredibly entertaining experience.”
Steve May said that the distillery has plans for a launch date in May 2024 however the weather and other factors could delay the opening. Whatever the case, it looks as if it’s going to be the year that Alabama opens its first whiskey distillery. It will be situated on Highway 231 where 3 million vehicles travel each year.
The article Gallery: Alabama’s very first Bourbon distillery is set to open in 2024 was first published in The Andalusia Star-News.
