Jimmy Sharp and his father John Sharp, owners of John Emerald Distilling Company, have plenty to be excited about this year.
The Opelika-based distillery, which began releasing its John Emerald single malt whiskey last June, just won two bronze medals at the New York International Spirits Awards in New York City.
The bronze medals were awarded for their John Emerald whiskey as well as their Hugh Wesley Gin.
“We were competing in that particular competition with over 500 spirits from 53 different countries, so we felt pretty good about it,” John said.
The spirits were submitted in October and were blind-tested by judges with experience in the industry. Winners were announced in November.
“We placed right alongside a 25-, a 23- and a 20-year-old whiskey with our less than 1-year-old whiskey, which we thought was pretty cool,” Jimmy said.
While whiskey is usually aged for several years before it is considered drinkable, Jimmy and his father have taken on a new rapid maturation technique to speed up their process.
The whiskey is aged by allowing the barrels to sit in rooms that mimic the changing weather of the seasons, which speeds the process from a matter of years to a matter of days.
This method has be looked down on by some whiskey connoisseurs, according to Jimmy.
“Some people are really skeptical about it," Jimmy said. "It’s different than what they’ve kind of believed about whiskey forever, so they don’t want to accept that it could be a possibility. That’s why blind tasting is so great.”
Jimmy and his father operate their distillery in downtown Opelika, which includes a bar that serves cocktails made exclusively with John Emerald products.
Southern Living will soon feature the John Emerald bar on its list of the 100 greatest bars in the South.
“It’s exciting to be getting some kudos for your efforts,” Jimmy said.
The company produces whiskey, gin, vodka, spiced rum and aged rum. All of the John Emerald spirits are distributed by ABC stores across the state except the aged rum, which they intend to release later this year. The company also sells their spirits in the Atlanta-Columbus area.
The father-son duo behind the spirits plans to grow in selling their spirits in more places in Alabama and Georgia, as well as in other state markets.
“We’re looking at New York, which is kind of a jump for us, but we have family up there," Jimmy said. "My siblings both own bars in the New York City area, so we have a few places with built-in accounts.”
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