The American Review: George Dickel Classic Recipe Tennessee Whisky Review

 

George Dickel was a German born merchant who settled in Nashville, Tennessee and originally sold whisky he sourced from local distillers and so George A Dickel & Co was born.

In 1878 he bought a large share in the Cascade Hollow Distillery when in opened in the neighbouring Coffee County and in 1888 George A Dickel & Co became the sole distributor of Cascade Whisky.

George Dickel Tennessee Whisky wasn’t actually bottled until 1964 and was made by the Schenley Distilling Company and the Cascade Hollow Distillery and Dickel brand would eventually come into Diageo’s ownership in 1997.

Sour Mash – Corn, after it is milled, needs to be cooked to break down the proteins and gelatinize the starch which allows the enzymes in the malted barley to break the starch into fermentable sugars.

Once the mash is cooled to 21C/70F previously fermented mash and sometimes spent beer is added to the new ferment. These both have a low pH and taste sour but helps the yeast propagate quickly to achieve higher yields.

Something unusual about Dickel’s production is they chill the new make spirit off the still to 4.4C/40F before the charcoal filtration of the Lincoln County process. This apparently is a nod back to George himself noticing that whisky made in the colder winter months tasted smoother.

George Dickel Tennessee Whisky 40% abv ($22)

Mashbill: 84% CORN – 8% RYE – 8% MALTED BARLEY

Nose: A very light nose – brown sugar, oak, vanilla, some cherry and almonds.

Palate: Thin mouthfeel – candied almonds, vanilla, bubblegum, copper and mild oak

Finish: Short with the oak and bubblegum lingering.

Score: 3 out of 10

Overall: No off notes per se but no real impact from the nose or palate and no development of either over time. Feels a little generic.

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