Virtual Whiskey Tasting, Part 1

Last night Bryan and I went to a Whiskey Tasting event, only this time it was in our living room – via Zoom, of course. It was sponsored by Brown Jug (our local alcohol store) and featured the Clyde May brand of whiskeys. We picked up the sampler set a few days prior from our local Brown Jug, so come Monday Night we were ready to join in.

Except of course Bryan decided at the last minute that he could sign us in on our TV instead of on our computer. That went so well we were only 10 minutes late – but that was just the Sales Rep doing his thing. He hadn’t gotten around to introducing the main speaker yet, so we didn’t really miss a whole lot.

Our main speaker was LC May, grandson of Clyde May. He gave us the background story of his Grandfather and explained the whiskey a bit. I had never heard of Clyde May or his whiskey, but apparently they are a big deal down in Alabama where they got their beginning by running illegal moonshine back in the mid ‘40s. Clyde’s claim to fame is two-fold: one being that he adds just a hint of roasted apple to his whiskey giving it a smoother taste, which is now referred to as Alabama Style Whiskey – and two being that he invented the Clyde 240, a type of copper still that distilled moonshine at a much higher quality. In fact, that Clyde 240 is still being used today!

The three whiskeys featured in the tasting were:

Alabama Style, 85 Proof: "The Original" is aged 4 years in oak barrels and finished with a hint of apple.

This was the first whiskey to be tasted and honestly, we didn’t like it very much. It’s so “smooth” it’s almost plain colored water. Might be good as a mixer to make other drinks out of, but for a straight up shot I would not recommend it.

Straight Bourbon, 92 Proof: Aged 4 to 5 years in new 53 gallon oak barrels and is non-chill filtered. You get dried orchard fruits on the nose and spice on the palate.

This was the second whiskey in line. Neither Bryan nor I care much for a bourbon normally, but this one was pretty darned good. Of course that may have been the fact that the first one was such a let-down – but it really did taste good.

Straight Rye, 94 Proof: Aged a minimum of 3 years, with floral notes, honeysuckle and apricot on the nose and spice and citrus on the palate. Finish is soft and smooth with tannins that bring out black pepper and wood spice.

This third one, however, was by far the best. The Straight Rye was again a surprise to me – a very pleasant one, though. Of the three tasted, this is probably the only one we’d go look for to buy again.