‘Judd Java’: Coffee company names brew after Florida sheriff Grady Judd

BARTOW, Fla. — A coffee company in west-central Florida brewed up an idea to help a local sheriff’s office buy K-9s, naming their latest blend for the state’s most colorful law enforcement official.

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Grady Judd, the blunt, witty and at times controversial sheriff of Polk County, sampled four coffees from Dark Horse Coffee Company from nearby Plant City, WTVT reported.

Judd, who once characterized a person who stole Christmas gifts from children as having “eggnog for brains,” did not hold back while tasting the four finalists for “Judd Java,” noting that one “smells like someone’s armpit.”

Jeremy Turner from Dark Horse Coffee said that half of the proceeds from customers buying the “Judd Java” will go toward K-9s for Cops Polk County, which will allow them to buy new dogs for the unit, WFLA-TV reported.

After blind-tasting the four coffees -- one had a grapefruit-like taste, the sheriff noted -- Judd picked the Ethiopian blend as the winner.

“That is tremendous,” Judd said. “This was fun, you know, this is the first time I ever have done a blind coffee taste.

The 69-year-old Judd began his career with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as a dispatcher in 1972 and was first elected as the county’s sheriff in 2004.

His comments during news conferences have become legendary. Referring to a woman who attacked McDonald’s employees, Judd quipped, “She created a McMess and she acted like a McNut.”

His advice to potential criminals?

“Just chill out. Drink a 7-Up. Eat a moon pie,” Judd said. “Quit murdering people.”

Now, at least, the bad guys of Polk County can chill out with a coffee named for the sheriff, although it is unclear whether the brew will be served in the county jail.