Liquor and college football

It hasn’t been all that long ago that alcohol wasn’t served at college football games.

Not out in the open, anyway. I didn’t say anything about consumption.

It was just 2019 that the SEC even allowed its member schools to sell beer at ballgames. Now, whiskey distillers are partnering up with college-football programs, and some Alabama universities are on board.

AL.com’s Lawrence Specker reports that Conecuh Ridge Distillery has announced partnerships with the Auburn, Alabama and Troy athletics departments.

The spirit that will be associated with the colleges is a brand with a history in Alabama: Clyde May’s Whiskey. Clyde May was a World War II veteran and a moonshiner who did time for distribution back in the early 70s.

Particularly in Troy, there might be some folks in the stands who’ve been familiar with Clyde May’s Whiskey since well before it was legal. May cooked his brew in Bullock County just a few miles from the city of Troy.

May’s grandson L.C. May is now a national brand ambassador for the company that now owns Conecuh Ridge Distillery. He said, “Troy has always been part of Clyde May’s story. Our family’s roots run deep here.”

During the legal era Clyde May’s whiskies have been distilled out of state, but a new Conecuh Ridge Distillery is expected to open in Troy later this year.

More Walker County indictments

We have an update on a story that we updated yesterday as indictments continue to pour in from the case of Tony Mitchell.

Mitchell was the man who died after spending time in the Walker County Jail. Allegations against the suspects involve abuse and neglect.

AL.com’s Carol Robinson reports that an indictment unsealed Tuesday charged five more jail workers in connection with Mitchell’s 2023 death. That brings the total number of people indicted in the case to 25.

The latest charges were against five medical workers. They allege conspiracy against rights and deprivation of rights.

Gulf Shores to Music City

Gulf Shores International Airport has announced a twice-weekly non-stop flight to Nashville, reports AL.com’s John Sharp.

The airport has now announced nine destinations since it opened in May. The Nashville flights are scheduled to start in November and run through at least mid-February. Airport director Jesse Fosnaugh said he expects it to be popular enough to continue beyond February.

He also said that a 2023 study showed an average of 380 people traveling between the two cities each day.

They get the chance to avoid that 14-hour drive, and it won’t hurt the rest of us to take some of those vehicles off Interstate 65.

Every little bit helps.

Listicle of the Day

For your listicle of the day, you’ll be relieved to know that Mountain Brook is in the top 30 wealthiest suburbs in the U.S. according to GOBankingRates, reports AL.com’s Diane Mwai.

Mountain Brook, which is south of Birmingham, landed at No. 30 on the list with an average household income of just over $300,000 and an average home value of just over a million dollars. That’s more than four times the state average in both of those categories.

Ah, but there’s always someone out there with a little more. At the top of the list was Scarsdale, N.Y., a tough-sounding New York City ‘burb with an average household income above $600,000 and average home value of around $1.2 million.

GoBankingRates placed 50 suburbs total. No other Alabama ‘burb made the list.

Quoting

“A lot of the times as a rookie, you just don’t want to look like an idiot. Now you can go out there and look a lot better than an idiot.”

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos QB1 formerly of Pinson High and Auburn, on his upcoming second NFL season.

By the Numbers

4,000

That’s the estimated number of NASA employees who have volunteered to leave their jobs through a couple of downsizing programs. At this point it’s unclear how much this affects Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

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Born on This Day

In 1946, late NASCAR driver Neil Bonnett of Hueytown.

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