George Dickel Signature Recipe is a 90-proof Tennessee whisky from Cascade Hollow in Tullahoma, made from 84% corn, 8% rye and 8% malted barley. It is the former George Dickel No. 12, renamed with no change to the whisky.
About This Whisky
The spirit is chilled before it passes through sugar maple charcoal, Dickel's version of the Lincoln County Process that defines Tennessee whisky. Dickel holds that cold whisky filters smoother, a belief traced to George Dickel's own preference for whisky made in winter. After mellowing it ages in new charred American oak and is bottled at 45% ABV. Compared with the 80-proof Classic Recipe it is fuller and more oak-driven, with notes of smoky oak and vanilla.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Toasted oak and vanilla, with caramel corn and a faint smokiness.
- Palate: Medium-bodied and smooth. Butterscotch, maple and ripe fruit, with a peppery edge.
- Finish: Moderate length, with sweet oak and a little char.
Serving & Food
It works neat or over ice, but the house serve is a highball: whisky over ice, topped with soda and a slice of lemon. That fresh, dry drink suits salt and pepper squid.
How to Enjoy
A useful bottle for highballs and easy sipping, and a good introduction to Tennessee whisky beyond the obvious names.
Product Details
Producer: Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. (George Dickel)
Category: Tennessee whisky
Mash Bill: 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley
Process: Chilled charcoal mellowing (Lincoln County Process)
ABV: 45% (90 proof)
Region: Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
George A. Dickel was a Nashville merchant who took a large share in the Cascade Hollow Distillery in Coffee County after it opened in 1878. Tennessee went dry in 1910, nine years before national Prohibition, and the old distillery closed.
The present distillery opened about a mile from the old site in 1958, first mashing on 4 July 1959, and the whisky was first bottled in 1964. Owned by Diageo, it was renamed Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. in 2018, when Nicole Austin became general manager and distiller.