Conecuh Brands LLC announced it has added Steve May to their team as vice president/general manager. May’s hire comes ahead of the opening of a new Conecuh Ridge Distillery in Troy, Alabama.

May will report to Conecuh Brands President & CEO Roy Danis and will be responsible for both distillery operations and the visitor experience at the new Conecuh Ridge Distillery.

The distillery is currently in its second phase of construction and slated for a late Fall 2023 opening, where it will be producing and bottling Clyde May’s Whiskey, the Official State Spirit of Alabama.

Steve May comes to Conecuh Brands from Brown-Forman, where he was the Director of Marketing Operations for the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. During May’s tenure, the Jack Daniel’s Homeplace experienced significant growth in terms of distillery retail sales and saw the annual guest count grow from 191,000 to over 300,000.

As a native Alabamian, and drinker of Clyde May’s Whiskey, May felt it was a natural next step in his career.

“Aside from the coincidental overlap in name, which I plan to investigate one day, I was really attracted to the entrepreneurial spirit of Conecuh Brands” May said in a news release. “I’ve missed the production side of things quite a bit and am looking forward to jumping back in to help build the Conecuh Ridge distillery into a great tourist destination.”

Commenting on the announcement, Danis said, “The building of this state-of-the-art distillery near to where Clyde started his craft back in 1946, is part of our strategy to build Clyde May’s legacy and establish ourselves as one of the preeminent whiskey producers in the country” and “to have a person with Steve’s experience and track record of success, will be invaluable to helping us achieve that ambition.”

The Clyde May’s Whiskey story begins in 1946 where Clyde’s commitment to quality cemented his reputation as one of the best moonshiner’s in the country. That legacy lives on today in his whiskeys and bourbons, made with a proprietary mash bill and aged in first-fill, new American oak barrels. The portfolio includes Clyde May’s Original Alabama Style Whiskey, Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon, Clyde May’s Straight Rye, and Clyde May’s Special Reserve Bourbon.

To learn more about Clyde May’s, please visit clydemays.com. To learn more, visit conecuhbrands.com.