Jimmy Red

Jimmy Red corn came within two ears of extinction. When the last bootlegger growing it died in the early 2000s, seed saver Ted Chewning took those two ears and rebuilt the crop. Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills then spread it across three regions so it could not be lost again.

Scott Blackwell of High Wire Distilling in Charleston started distilling it in 2014. The kernel carries an unusually large, oily germ, and the distillate shows marzipan and cherry rather than plain corn sweetness. His first run was 570 bottles and sold in eleven minutes.