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Where history is always a mixed bag no matter where you look, the history of the ‘Old South’ has lost much more than most places and cultures. Through three wars that marred the soil of Dixie, the horrors of chattel slavery, the depredations of reconstruction followed by the hammers and axes of prohibition so very very much has been lost. Among these was quite nearly the “Jimmy Red” hard corn that was taken in the early 1900s from the Appalachians to Charleston, South Carolina. After a flirtation with extinction the blood-red corn: a staple for producing a distinctive moonshine whiskey or “hooch” known by the same name as”Jimmy Red” has been resurrected according to Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills, an heirloom seed seller.
Roberts told NPR’s Jill Niemark, “In the 1980s, you used to be able to go to James Island,” recalls Glenn Roberts, founder of heirloom seed purveyor Anson Mills. “And, if you knew the right people, they’d sell you delicious food out their backdoor kitchen and you’d get a jar of Jimmy Red hooch with it. But though I knew the hooch, I never knew the corn.”
It would turn out that nobody really knew the corn except for one man, a bootlegger who died in the early aughts, and the particular strain of corn, one described by ReturnToNow as “Sparkling Red Native American Corn”, “whose kernels look like pomegranate seeds” was nearly lost forever. Luckily for all of us, two ears of the endangered corn were gifted to a neighbor and avid seed collector Ted Chewning with the suggestion that he grow it to feed to his hogs. Fortunately for all of us, Ted had a bit more vision and it paid off handsomely.
As NPR reported, “Chewning loves to save seeds — he has revived nearly extinct corns, beans, heirloom radishes, watermelons and field peas. He rescued Jimmy Red as well, growing it and saving kernels each year, increasing the seed stock. Little did he know that soon it would burst on the restaurant scene as a prized heirloom cultivar that makes unforgettable red-flecked grits and a rich, smooth whiskey with honey-nut undertones”
The Jimmy Red Corn Whiskey Makes A Comeback
Between Chewning and Roberts, the corn had officially dodged becoming a footnote in history, but it would take some serious backing for the iconic blood-red hooch to make a comeback. Enter: High Wire Distilling Co.In 2014 almost a decade after the Jimmy-Red’s brush with oblivion Roberts and Anson Mills would present their fifty different varieties of heirloom corn to Scott Blackwell, the owner of High Wire. Blackwell’s request was simple, “Which one makes the best whiskey?” In a half a heartbeat Roberts answered: The Jimmy Red of course.
As ReturnToNow wrote, Blackwell decided, “I’ll write a grant check to Clemson University to grow that one then,”
“And the rest is history.
Clemson University research scientist Brian Ward, who specializes in bringing old seed lines back from near extinction, grew 2.5 acres that year.
“Right away I could tell it was very different,” Blackwell says of tasting his first batch. “Super earthy. Super sweet. Like banana laffy taffy.”
“It doesn’t smell corny at all,” he told The Daily Beast. “It’s got this three-inch oil cap on it, it’s got this purplish red color to it.”
His first 570 bottles of “Jimmy Red” bourbon sold out in 11 minutes.”
And just like that, a little taste of the old south rose from the ashes and into the 21st century High Wire’s New Southern Revival Straight Bourbon Whiskey distilled from the original Jimmy Red corn. It’s a 95 proof $80 bottle per 750ml for the flavorful bourbon that
“boasts notes of graham, cinnamon, and maple with a creamy mouthfeel.”
And now the magic has spread to other distilleries as well with Wood Hat Spirits offering their “Bloody Butcher Red Corn Whiskey” a 120+ Proof bottle for just under $90 per 750ml described as ” big, spicy, peppery and full with a smooth, lingering, warming finish.”
We’re going to have to pick up a few bottles for the office, but it sounds to us like Jimmy Red bourbon is a perfect taste of fall.
