I stumbled upon this bottle by accident. Which is not to say I was unaware that this collab between Leopold and Dickel existed. I’d seen reviews, glanced at them. Had some interest in the whisky for what it was, but wasn’t going to buy it because…well, they don’t sell it around me, and even if they did, the SRP was between $110-$120, which I understand is considered a decent rate for a limited edition/special release, but a bit too rich for my blood. The most I ever spent on a bottle was $110 for Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition, and I’m a peat fan and an Islay fan, so that would make sense, especially because this was when it still carried a 16 year age statement. I like Dickel Rye. The 90 proof standard edition goes for about $30 now. Leopold seems to make specialty whiskies that go for boutique prices so I’m assuming the bulk of the value here comes from that. They’re using a process that I’ll admit I haven’t much looked into but that’s not used much for rye anymore, and I guess that adds to the allure. Now for how I stumbled upon this (I almost type “came upon this” but I can’t type “came upon” without snickering, so “stumbled upon” is the better alternative): I was reading a review on the latest Chattanooga experimental release on Breaking Bourbon and thought it sounded good. But they don’t sell Chattanooga in my state, so I decided to look at the liquor stores around my buddy who lives in Chicago. Sometimes if there’s something special I want out his way, he’ll pick it up for me and get it to me and I just Venmo him the cash. Well, Binny’s didn’t have the Chattanooga I was looking for, but I decided to browse, and woah, this Dickel/Leopold collab had been marked down from $120 to $55. How many among you in my situation wouldn’t have picked up your phone and texted your friend, “Hey, are you anywhere in the vicinity of a Binny’s right now?” Well, he was passing one as he received my message and he picked up a bottle for himself and a bottle for me. We do this from time to time: though separated by half a country, we will pick up the same bottle, have a FaceTime call to shoot the shit, sip our respective bottles, and compare notes. Our agreement was this: this is very good whisky. The nose is rich with earthy aromas of pine and mint with notes of cinnamon red hots and buttered toffee and banana bread, and if you let it sit notes of sugary hubba bubba bubble gum also arrive on the back end. Super complex and inviting. It’s got what I call Yankee Candle nose in that I wish they could capture it and sell it as a candle because I’d buy it and burn it daily just to have that scent wafting through my workspace. In other words, that’s the highest compliment I can pay a nose, a Yankee Candle nose for me is a 5-star nose. Doesn’t get much better than this if you don’t have peat smoke in the glass. The bubble gum flavor carries into the palate along with notes of cherry and a hint of the mint and cinnamon spice. The palate is quite good, though it doesn’t quite live up to the fireworks display that is the nose. The finish is resonant and waxy with a peppery bite that is probably the least impressive part of the dram, but still maintains a respectable quality. Overall, I don’t think this is worth the SRP and wouldn’t feel as good about having purchased it if I had paid full price. At the clearance price point I found it at, it’s a steal, and I’d say a reasonable $70 whisky tops. I get that you’re going to hype something like this where it’s two distilleries working together on something unique, and I suppose there’s a surcharge for that, but what’s in the glass simply doesn’t live up to what they’re charging. If you can find it with a deep price cut, pick it up. Otherwise, I’d say that as pleasant a sip as this is, it’s a pass, and I have to dock it probably half a star simply because of its cost.