I'm a old number 7 and gentleman jack guy, and to me, dickel 12 is an entirely different animal. To me they share the common Tennessee whisky notes, sweet corn, oak, charcoal, (with the exception of Jacks vanilla sweetness and nutty notes, dickel has more of a brown sugar sweetness). I strongly recommend you drink them side by side, the flavors of these notes are a lot different. But to me, the biggest factor in defining yourself as a "jack guy" or a "dickel 12 guy" is the feeling. Jack snipes you down from a mile away with a sharp alcohol bite (even at 80 proof, and dickel at 90 proof, still has way more bite) and it's flavors flatten on you. very open flavors, very bland (gentleman jack tightens more and much more flavorful). While dickel has a very warm, tight, rich, and flavorful feel.