Richard-Davenport
George Dickel 13 Year Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whisky (Fall 2005)
Tennessee Whiskey — Tennessee, USA
Reviewed
August 15, 2022 (edited June 4, 2023)
WHISKIES I DON’T CARE FOR: ROUND 2
George Dickel Bottled in Bond vs Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey
(These first two paragraphs are largely boilerplate from my Round 1 review).
Lately I’ve been doing several side-by-side tastings. I have plenty of whisk(e)y that I love—probably too much—but I’ve also got some that I don’t care for, so I thought I’d mix it up and try to discern just what I don’t like about them. My mental shelving of them into the “not like” category means that they’ve been in the penalty box for some time; thus it’s instructive to ascertain whether or not they belonged there to begin with.
The whiskies I selected for this round were picked randomly; they happened to be two that I recalled not liking. Unlike some of my other showdowns (Islay, BTAC, etc.), this side-by-side tasting has nothing to do with a specific region or type; rather, both of these are simply two that I haven’t drunk much (if any) because I didn’t care for them to begin with.
George Dickel Bottled in Bond
This bourbon won Whisky Advocate’s Whisk(e)y of the Year in 2019. (A digression: Whisky Advocate is part of Marvin Shanken’s portfolio of lifestyle magazines, which also includes Wine Spectator, Cigar Afficionado, and other industry publications. WA is not about finding “the best”; rather, it’s about marketing, business and “spreading the love around” so that retailers can have something new to push. To be fair, their methodology for the annual Top 20 excludes so-called “hard to find” whiskies. And of course, whisky and whiskey is anything but monolithic, so the comparison isn’t apples to apples. Are there repeat winners, or even repeat top-20 selections? I can’t find any since the list began in 2017. I love Lagavulin; but how is Lagavulin 11 Offerman Edition--not as good as the Lagavulin 16, or the Lagavulin Distiller's edition--the best of that year on any metric? Of course it doesn’t mean that all of their picks are bad: 2020’s #1, Larceny Barrel Proof, is outstanding. 2018’s #1, Nikka Whisky From the Barrel, is fantastic.2017’s #1, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B517, is great. This isn’t my subjective opinion; it’s empirical statistical analysis. Five years. 100 whiskies. No duplicates. Dickel BiB was #1 in 2019, but hasn’t been able to crack the top 20 since? ECBP B517 was #1 in 2017, but couldn’t again crack the top 20 in the next five years? Off soapbox).
As with all whiskies that win WA’s WOTY, this one got scarce for awhile. I found a bottle during the hype and counted myself lucky. Then I tasted it and put it aside.
GD BiB has a 13-year-old age statement. Color is a deep, tawny burnt orange. On the nose there is a quite pronounced—and quite odd—note that many have described as “peanut” but I have described as “Flintstone’s chewable vitamins.” I’ve gotten the same note on the only other Dickel I’ve ever had (the regular 8-year-old expression). This time, I am getting more of the peanut aspect, and there is a certain pervasive richness to it. Perhaps this peanut-cum-Flintstone-vitamin thing is just a polarizing thing, like Julia Child and cilantro. Part of me wants to find something positive to say, like concentrated nectar of Snickers, but I just can’t get myself to say it. There’s also a cool spearmint note. The palate is an improvement: it is smooth and rich, with a chocolate-covered-cherries sweetness. The 100 proof shows itself on the back end of the palate, and continues on the finish, with a pleasant (and expected) bit of heat, finishing with lingering vanilla and additional cool spearmint. GD BiB is smooth and rich. So is clam chowder, and I don’t like clams. But if you like peanuts or children’s chewable vitamins in your whisky, you may like it. 2.5 on the Distiller scale.
Of course, there are other polarizing whiskies: one that I love is Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Five-Malt Stouted Mash (reviewed 5/19/22). But whereas the Woodford was a special project with a specific goal that was (objectively) accomplished, the GD BiB is just…odd.
One more thing. I’m not a Dickel fan based on my experience with two of their offerings (I’m stubborn though, and would surely at least try another if it was given to me). My position became more entrenched when I realized that this distiller offers a spirit aged in Tabasco barrels. I say “spirit” because it doesn’t qualify as a whiskey (it’s only 70 proof). Can any whisk(e)y connoisseur take that seriously? For more info on Dickel’s marketing master stroke with Tabasco, enjoy whisky.com’s Ben Luening’s comments (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wN5CWRHLrk). Skip to 5:17 for the fireworks.
Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey
Apparently this bourbon is now a relic, having been discontinued sometime in the past few years. It appears that Tuthilltown Distillers, which the label describes as the first New York distiller since Prohibition, has been bought by Scotland’s William Grant & Sons, and the offerings have been revamped. This particular bourbon appears to have been replaced by the “Bright Lights, Big Bourbon” brand. This discontinued bottle is only 375ml, 94 proof, “made with 100% New York corn,” and aged “under 4 years” without saying how long. Had I realized the mashbill, I would’ve included it in my “Corn Whiskey Showdown” (6/29/22).
The nose is unmistakably corn and oak. The mouthfeel is nice, with a viscous, syrupy quality, along with corn-syrup sweetness. There is some corn sweetness and a little spiciness on the finish. Essentially a one-man band playing the same note. 1.5 on the Distiller scale.
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@LouisianaLonghorn I can believe that!
@Richard-Davenport isn’t that the truth. I only remember paying $15-20 for the Tabasco one. It’s rubbish on its own, but it made an epic batch of Bloody Marys that weekend for brunch.
@LouisianaLonghorn different can be good…I’d definitely try it, but don’t want to buy it as I don’t think I’ll care for it. There’s only a finite amount of whisk(e)y dollars!
@DjangoJohnson it’s becoming mine as well 😎
I actually didn’t mind the Dickel Tabasco….at least they were going for something different.
@Richard-Davenport it’s cool. I was kidding. I’m on here all day all the time. Distiller is my Facebook
@angstrom Yes, I do see that they mention methodology. Didn't see a mention of "only new releases," although as @DjangoJohnson said, it does look like it's a primary factor.
@DjangoJohnson I'm not asking for excuses! :-) But enjoy the vacation. Envious!
@BDanner yes, editing comments would be nice.
@DrRHCMadden I expected that at least one of you would have the time zone excuse! I'll be looking for more responses from you in the evenings here then (US East Coast time; currently GMT-4). RE the Hudson, good to know that we have corroborating data on opposite sides of the globe--it must be true!
Looks like WA lists their method for picking Top 20 on their website.
@Richard-Davenport Haha, I never miss the opportunity to dog on Dickel, even if it is early morning.
@Richard-Davenport I’m on vacation this week so it’s okay 😀. Obviously I’m NEVER on here before noon during the workweek…
*50ml it should say. I hope this new Distiller App will include the ability to edit comments lol.
@Richard-Davenport exactly! …and the reason you still see inventory is because they can’t even give the s*** away. I bought a ml promptly dumped most of it out.
@Richard-Davenport time zones. West Australia. That’s my defence and I’m sticking to it! I had forgotten I tried Hudson, long time before I got on this distiller app malarkey. Damn it was utter crap. Talk about high expectations falling short.
@BDanner @PBMichiganWolverine @DjangoJohnson @angstrom @DrRHCMadden what are we doing on a bourbon site before lunch? Nevermind...don't answer that.
@BDanner Thanks, and fair enough. I thought that the "Tabasco Fiasco" (love your use of that term) had its flames doused (haha) as I didn't see it on their website, although I do see inventory remaining in stores. I myself don't care for the peanut/Flintstones vitamin note I've gotten with the only two I've tried, but I'm always willing to try, try again! It's all about "empirical analysis" anyway, right? :-)
@DjangoJohnson RE WA reviewing only whiskies that are new that year for the annual Top 20, this seems to be loosely followed, but not exact. After doing some digging (just in 2021), I found that most were released within a year (i.e., late 2020 or 2021), but a handful were released earlier. Wild Turkey Master's Keep One (#10) is of course a continuation of the Master's Keep series, which has been going on for five or six years (but this one is different than previous releases). Old Fitz 11-year BiB (#16) is an annual release with varying age statements, but has had an 11-year version previously. Glendronach Port Wood (#18) was released in the UK in 2019 and the US in 2020. But your statement does seem correct, and it appears that WA does generally follow that. Thanks for your "deconspiratizing" of my skepticism! :-)
Nice Review. I'm a little biased here as Cascade Hollow Whisky is generally in my sweet spot, but I give Dickel a pass on the whole Tabasco Fiasco as it was done at a time when the big boys were doing "Honey", "Honey Sting", "Cinnamon", "Apple", "Peach", Etc., Etc. I think Dickel thought they would do that, but in a way that was more than just adding corn syrup and flavor to young versions of their base spirit. Where they went horribly wrong was, "what in the hell do you do with Tabasco flavored whisky"? Shots tend to be on the sweeter side, and the only cocktail I can think of you'd use it for would be a whisky based Bloody Mary. In a word, gross. To their credit, they recognized their error quickly and discontinued it in a flash. I also point out that this was done during a transition where Dickel went through 3 master distillers in rather quick succession before finally snatching up Nicole Austin who has overseen the release of the highly successful high aged BIB series, 15 year old Single Barrel, an 8 year age stated bourbon, a Private Barrel program, an in house distilled Rye that is coming soon, and like the commercial says "so much more". All for MSRP's ranging from $30-$60. I agree that their profile is usually love or hate (and luckily I fall in the love category), but I refuse to give them too much crap for the horrible misstep that was Dickel Tabasco.
@PBMichiganWolverine Yes, or to wax conspiratorial, not those that have a big revenue stream, but those who give a kickback to WA for their potential ability to provide a big revenue stream...
@DjangoJohnson that's an interesting comment about new whiskies for that particular year. I hadn't thought of that, and had not seen that qualifier in WA's own methodology writeup. Perhaps I missed it. Time to check!
@DjangoJohnson so that’s much more fair than I expected. My conspiracy side automatically made me think they probably only award to those that have a big ad revenue stream
@PBMichiganWolverine my understanding is they start with about 100 whiskies that are newly available and widely available but also not insanely expensive so that readers have a chance of finding them and affording them and then the editors taste blindly. If an older product changes proof or removes or adds chill filtration like Overholt Bonded recently did, they consider it a new product. Generally I don’t think they ever have a whiskey above $200 on the list. The highest priced whiskey I remember is Wild Turkey Masters Keep which was…$170?
@DjangoJohnson I also always just assumed ( wrongly or rightfully so) that WA 20 would be highly biased based on distillery ad revenue to their magazine. I just imagined ad revenue going down if a particular product didn’t make the cut.
I had always been under the impression that the WA top 20 only included whiskies that were new that year which is why they don’t have repeats. But I’ve never gone through the list to confirm it? I generally enjoy the list as like any list it’s a conversation starter, like say Top 100 Albums of the 1960s but yes, WA is a lifestyle magazine and nothing more. And I tend to find their opinions way off the mark with rye whiskey but again…different strokes, right?
“So is clam chowder…” 🤣