George Dickel No. 8

neat

A fine intro to Tennessee whiskey. Smoother and more flavorful than Jack. A good sipper, flavors of good pipe tobacco, vanilla, rye spice, a little fruit cake. Moderate finish of spice and corn sweetness. Not as complex as Blaton's or Stagg, Jr; but, I got 1.75 for $27 pre-tax. How can you argue with that?

Sampling some baby Dickel - George Dickel No.8. Makes me wish I had a bottle of No.12 to do a proper side-by-side. NAS, but reportedly aged between 5 to 7 years. Mash Bill: 84% Corn, 8% Rye, 8% Malted Barley (Standard Dickel Mash Bill) ABV: 40% Price: $16.99 Nose: Light, sweet corn. Green apple. Malty oak. A bit of black licorice hidden in there. It could be the sugar, char, and minerality are combining to give it that effect but I can’t un-smell it. Palate: Tart green apple with a tiny bit of salt at first, followed by honey sweetness (like the little to-go packets of “honey” you get with your takeout), malty vanilla oak, char, and minerals. The tannins want to leap out at you, but they suspiciously mellow out before they get the chance to become overwhelming. I still get faint black licorice again. Finish: Sweet and warming, with lots of minerality lingering on the finish. My moniker may make it seem like I have a habit of licking rocks (I don’t) but if you did lick rocks, the finish may taste something like that. I much prefer this dram to the Tennessean behemoth that overshadows it. Pretty good VFM, if a little unconventional on the finish. 3.0 ~ 75 ~ Average