George Dickel 11 Year Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whisky (Fall 2008)

Good but overhyped

Nose: Strong Tennessee Whiskey smell, oak, sweet corn, vanilla and caramel. A nice apple pie crust note as well. Palate: Thicker mouthfeel, the oak turns more into a cracked black pepper that warms the palate. More stewed apples and pie crust. A nice vanilla butterscotch note moves you into the finish. Finish: Quicker than you would like. More of the vanilla butterscotch as it fades away. Just a hint of caramel drizzle waves goodbye to finish it all!

Complex after adding 1:5. Little more spice than sweet, but offering a bit of fruit with shortbread.

Much better since it got too breath

N: Grape jelly and almond butter. Medicinal spices. Woodsy spice. There's some other nut there too, maybe pecan or walnut. Fairly substantial ethanol scent, but it kinda comes and goes. Overall, the grape scent dominates, but runs from red wine to grape candy. Interesting to showcase such a wide range of basically the same core note. P: Sweet corn, but with a distinct grape flavor to it. Less varied than the scent. Starts with a quick sweet hit on the edges of the tongue - it's like a Mike and Ike candy, but only for about a second. Tiny bit of lemon sour on the tip of the tongue too. Then moves spicy and very tannic - really puckers the sides of your mouth. Spice is a cinnamon heat and it seems to last forever - never ending finish. This just isn't as interesting or good as BiB #1. There's a lot happening here, and it's good, but it's nowhere near as nuanced as the 13 year. This is heavier, more aggressive, more boozy, and just generally less surprising. Maybe it's a victim of prior success and would be a stunner without the recent history, but I think it's too tannic and boozy, where #1 was exceptionally well balanced, to really stand out as a sipper. Still looking forward to #3 though. Keep 'em comin, George!