tdelling Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 The best things in life are bought by the side of the road. Georgia peaches, Tupelohoney, rock shrimp, shark steaks, boiled peanuts... they all have character. Local flavour. They might not be the cleanest, or the nicest looking, but somebody lovesthem enough and believes in them enough to go to all the trouble of gettin' sometogether and settin' by the side of the road and tryin' to sell 'em. I've been toldthat a while back, you used to could add Clyde May's Christmas Whiskey tothat list, although he probably didn't set up a roadside stand.Mmmmm... boiled peanuts. Oops, sorry about that. Back to the subjectat hand.Clyde May's Conecuh Ridge WhiskeyBatch #00145% Alcohol / 90 Proof"Whiskey Distilled from Bourbon Mash"Bottle: fairly square, with a screw top. I can respect a screw top. Foilover the top in orange. A fairly nice looking label, perhaps a bit busy.Color: a nice light amber, a lot like iced tea. The orange label makes the whiskeylook a bit orange.Nose: a little spirity, but not harsh by any means. Graham crackers. Grahamcrackers??!!! Light brown sugar. At times a bit of violets, a bit orangey.Hints of alcohol... what most people would recognize as an isopropyl alcoholaroma, but not much of it, really. The nose overall is... mouth watering!Taste: You know, I really wish there were a more sophisticated wordfor "yummy". 'Cause this is just plain yummy. Drink Me! Drink Me!A word to the wise: when you pour yourself some, pour it in small amounts,becuase you'll be hearing "Pour some more!" and "Have another!" when youget to the bottom of the glass. If you only pour yourself small glasses, youcan give in to temptation much more often.Let me try again.Taste: Now the graham crackers really hit. Wow! A taste that you just can'tget anywhere else. Surges of plummy/grapey notes that you'll recognizefrom young whiskey. Hints of that pretentious licorice you tried that one time.Sometimes a touch rubbery. Mostly light brown sugar, graham crackers, andplums. And a bit orangey. Oh, and corn cobs every now and then. Overall, theflavours mix quite well... rather complex, and well rounded.Finish: refreshing. Makes you want to drink more. I'm a big fan of long finishes,and I'm genearlly disappointed when I don't get one... well, I didn't get one,but I'm not disappointed. It leaves a sweet taste in the mouth.Overall:It's aged in used barrels,sto the barrel doesn't dominate the taste. It's abouttime someone made a "bourbon" in used barrels, becuase there's a lot ofbeauty in there that the barrel often hides! Conecuh is definitey on the lighterside: it's not going to run you over and leave you in the ditch with so muchflavor you don't know what to do with yourself.Surprisingly enough, it's not harsh, either. It's not "hot" like I feared thatit might be. It's just: sweet. Very approachable. Sorta like rum, but withnew dimensions added. It's got rum's sweetness, but whisky'srounder, more grainy/cereal-ish-ness.Personally, I think that this is the future of American Whiskey.Right here.You tasted it here first.This is a side of "bourbon" that definitey needs more exploring.Tim Dellinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 Thanks for the notes Tim. I've been waiting on an online site to get this in since January! You made my wait even more frustrating now, as I can't wait to get my hands on a bottle to try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 I spend enough money on bourbon. I don't need another category of whiskey to explore! But, after reading your review of Conecuh and having me help you obtain a couple bottles of legit WV 'shine, I am getting downright curious. Hurry up with those WV 'shine tasting notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornsqueezins Posted March 26, 2003 Share Posted March 26, 2003 Enjoyed your tasting notes, Tim. This stuff has it's own style and is WAY too easy to drink! The nose doesn't follow through into the taste as strongly as I would like but maybe I'm subconsciously seeking barrel complexities which, as you reminded us, are not there.-Troy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Well, almost a year after waiting to get one of these bottles, I finally got some a few weeks ago. I recently had the chance to open one and let me tell you, this stuff is good. I found it very similar to Michter's US1 Unblended American Whiskey, but in all honesty even better. The Conecuh Ridge had less bite, it was much smoother and the flavors were a bit more rounded. Two very distinct flavors that I noticed right away were corn and a sugary sweetness almost like that in honey. If you're looking for something different from your everyday pour of bourbon, give these american whiskies from Michter’s and especially Conecuh Ridge a try. Just be warned, from my experience, you will either love them or hate them. Others I know have loved them so much they went out and got 2nd bottles and others finished their glass in disappointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelling Posted February 25, 2004 Author Share Posted February 25, 2004 > Just be warned, from my experience, you will either love them or hate them.> Others I know have loved them so much they went out and got 2nd bottles and> others finished their glass in disappointment.I've also heard very polarized comments... some people hate the stuff andhave to decide how polite they need to be!It's nice to hear that other StraightBourbonites are enjoying it. I did goout on a limb a little bit by posting my tasting notes.... it's not likeposting notes on, say, WT Russell's Reserve, where you know that peopleare more or less going to agree with almost any positive review.Tim Dellinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 See that's interesting, thanks Mark. I wonder what accounts for the sweetness. Presumably it does not come from the barrels, which must have given up their red layer sweetness to the contents previously held. "Plain" wood would impart some residual sweetness, but not that much, I think. Could sugar possibly be added to these products? If not, I guess sweetness is inherent in "bourbon mash" distillate. (But how does sucrose/maltose get over with the alcohol into the condensate??).In any case, the burned wood taste from the charcoal layer is missing - that level of complexity is not there. Sounds like an analogy to a comparison between unpeated and peated single malt whisky is apt..Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelling Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 There is a certain amount of sweetness in the unaged distillate,e.g. my tasing notes for Mountain Moonshine ("Sweet Sippin' II").Some scotches that are aged ex-bourbon barrles also show a great dealof sweetness, but you're right, the 'character' of the sweetness isdifferent than that of bourbon. Sometimes it's called "malty sweetness"in scotches, but I think some of the toasty flavors from the maltmight be combining with these sweet notes (of unknown origin!) togive the impression of maltyness.Could sugar be added????? Them's fightin' words! Whisk(e)y is grainand water and yeast and wood and that's all!Could sugar come over during distaillation? I hadn't thought about this,but I suppose it could. Larger molecules than sugars definintely makeit over: plenty of fatty acid derivatives, etc.I still haven't pinned down the sources of the various types of sweetnessin whiskies... it's a very interesting question! I think the searchfor answers is going to require a lot of drinking...Tim Dellinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdelling Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 > I wonder what accounts for the sweetness. Presumably it does not come from> the barrels, which must have given up their red layer sweetness to the contents> previously held. "Plain" wood would impart some residual sweetness, but not> that much, I think.Just a quick note on barrel chemistry:About 25% of American oak is hemicellulose, which is basically big longchains of sugars. One way to break these up is with heat, which is oneof the effects of charring. But there are other ways of breaking uphemicellulose... hydrolysis (i.e. reaction with water) is one of thereactions that occurs during aging. So the barrel is constantly"dissolving" and turning into sugars over the years. Althoughcharring makes a bunch of sugar real quick, just because that particularsugar is gone (i.e. after the barrel has been used once) doesn't meanthat there isn't more in the barrel waitin' to come out.As to how all this changes the subtle nuances of what we call "sweet"...that's still a mystery to me.Tim Dellinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Thanks Tim, most interesting. I think a charred barrel will as you say impart a sweetness quality faster, but it will also lend a slightly burned taste to the spirit, a defining flavour in bourbon. Whiskeys, from whatever kind of mash and distilled to however low a proof, can't acquire that taste from reused barrels. That is why, I believe, only bourbon can lay claim to being America's premier whiskey style.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 White dog tastes sweet. Georgia Moon tastes sweet. Sweetness is coming from more than the wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeNell Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 I tasted the Conecuh Ridge for the first time today. Sales rep brought it by as a tease of an item they are considering selling in NY. I agree that it is better than Michter's. I found it quite pleasant. Nose has a lot of butter, graham cracker goodness to it. Package is a bit of a shelf hog. Maybe the link to Alabama hit a soft spot with this ole country gal, but I rather liked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew_kulsveen Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 It's funny that you mention it. We produce for Michter's and Conecuh Ridge. They are both great whiskeys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Any distribution of Conecuh Ridge in Ky? Any in the foreseeable future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew_kulsveen Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Not yet. I think the brand owner, Kenny May, wants to keep it an Alabama tradition, it makes it more exclusive that way. He will be visiting us in a couple of weeks, I can ask him about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1 Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 how do they get their unique flavors? Is something added to the barrel,or before bottling? We don't need any trade secrets just the general idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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