George Dickel Bottled in Bond 11 Year Review

A little over a year ago I reviewed the first release of George Dickel Bottled in Bond. The TL;DR was I pretty much hated it. I found it overly thin and remarkably underwhelming given the age and proof. While Dickel tends to be a very polarizing whiskey, this surprised me greatly because I generally quite enjoy it as a nice change of pace from most other bourbons. While there were some that liked the bottled in bond release, I think overall the whiskey community mostly sided with me as there was a considerable amount of groaning when the product won one of those silly whiskey of the year awards. 

Fast forward one year and here we are with a second release of this product, distilled 3 years later in Fall of 2008 but now bearing an official age statement of 11 years. I wasn't quite ready to give up on Dickel so when I saw a bottle on the shelf with a price that is still relatively cheap by current special release standards, I figured I'd take a chance given the lack of anything better to do right now.

Tennessee Whiskey distilled in Fall 2008; Aged 11 years; 50% ABV; $40

Nose: Toasted marshmallow, light spice bite, a decent helping of traditional Dickel Flintstone multivitamins, and lots of woody charred corn.

Taste: Thicker mouthfeel than I remember from last time. Upfront it's honey and other sweet woody flavors which transitions into some slight spice and that familiar vitamin mineral note. The finish is a nicely rounded combo of sweet, spice, and wood but it tapers off too quickly.

Thoughts: I came into this thinking at worst it would be as thin and underwhelming as last time or at best it would be like a really great Dickel store pick. All in all, I think this is somewhere in the upper middle of that which is what I expected from the original release. There is a much better balance of sweet, oak, and char this time around making it just an overall better whiskey. My biggest complaint is still that the finish is entirely too short which again I suspect is due to an abundance of filtration. Outside of that, this is decidedly Dickel whiskey through and through and much closer to form of what I expect from the brand. If I see again, I will buy it.

Rating: B-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

George Dickel Bottled in Bond Review

George Dickel is a very polarizing product amongst whiskey enthusiasts because as many folks will tell you, it has an incredibly distinct taste and smell that most people liken to vitamins. Open the seal on fresh bottle of multivitamins and smell it - that's sort of what Dickel whiskey can taste and smell like on top of all the usual corny/sweet/woody bourbon notes. It's a very odd flavor that many folks find off putting but over the years I've come to appreciate that odd profile as something different - something along the lines of bourbon being my wife and George Dickel being my mistress. 

As of late, there's been a flood of Dickel based products on the market. On top of the official single barrel store picks from Dickel themselves, we've also seen a ton of NDPs offer it as a sourced product. One in particular that comes to mind are the folks over at Barrell who have been releasing cask strength 13-14 year old Tennessee sourced bourbon that almost certainly is from Dickel. I've enjoyed some of those quite a lot however the $110 price tag has kept me from going back to the well very often. My good experiences with well aged Dickel across the board had me excited to see Dickel themselves releasing an older age product with a decent proof and a very reasonable price point. The best Dickel branded products I've ever had were the 14 year single barrels that clocked in around 106 proof. This product seems really close to those in terms of specs so I'm going into this with high expectations. 

Tennessee Bottled in Bond Whiskey; No Age Statement (Fall 2005 Vintage Statement); 50% ABV; $36

Nose: There is no escaping the familiar Dickel multivitamins. Also per usual with Dickel there is a heavy smoked corn component, something along the lines of charred cornbread. 

Taste: All the same from the nose. A brief jolt of Dickel minerals, charred corn, and slight musty oak. The finish briefly lingers with almost no flavor other than Dickel minerals and burnt charred wood but even that doesn't last long.

Thoughts: Throwing the specs out the window and judging this as a regular whiskey with no context, this is borderline okay. Bring the specs back into the equation though and judge this for what it should be and it's a miserable failure. They must have filtered the everlasting shit out of this because there is no way it tastes like it's 100 proof. It's so incredible thin and the finish is so incredibly short I'm baffled. I don't know how Diageo managed to royally fuck up what could have been a fantastic release but kudos to them for finding a way to ruin something that should have been great.

Rating: D+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon 8 and 12 Year Reviews

Peg Leg Porker is a local Nashville BBQ restaurant run by Carey Bringle who lost a leg to bone cancer hence the name. Before I get into the whiskey let me say that Peg Leg is one of my favorite BBQ places in Nashville and if you are ever in town, you should go there. They specialize in pork and will be the first to tell you if you want brisket, go to Texas. Carey is a bit of a character and in my discussions with him seems like a really fun/nice guy.

From what I recall, the Peg Leg whiskey brand started about 3-4 years ago as a no age statement product but since then has launched an 8 year and just recently a limited edition 12 year. The process for the last two products has been the same - it's a sourced Tennessee straight bourbon whiskey that is filtered through hickory charcoal before bottling. Most whiskey nerds know there is pretty much one major Tennessee distillery selling bulk whiskey and that's George Dickel. Dickel whiskey has an odd profile that wears on some due to a weird multivitamin mineral note that is very present in their products but personally I've come to terms with it. For the record, I have no factual evidence that the source here is Dickel other than my own experience tasting their products. When Peg Leg whiskey was first launched I asked Carey where it was sourced and he told me he signed an NDA that prevented him from revealing the details.

Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon

Aged 8 years; 45% ABV; $47

Nose: Corn forward and slight rye spice. Yep, smells like a Dickel whiskey though the vitamin funk is toned down.

Taste: Sweet vanilla, heavy corn, a little bit of rye spice. Slight vitamin mineral note, again more toned down than in regular Dickel products. The finish has quite a bit of smokey wood char, I assume that's the hickory charcoal finishing. 

Thoughts: Surprisingly, this doesn't have a lot of those weirdo multivitamin flavors but it also doesn't have a lot of depth and lends towards the sweet and smokey side of things. All in all, it tastes like a muted Dickel whiskey as it's a bit dull and boring. It's fine for daily sipping but at the price point, a 9 year Dickel single barrel select coming in at 103 proof is a better value with more body. If anything I think the filtering has worked against this one unless you want something ultra smoooooooooth.

Rating: C-

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Peg Leg Porker Tennessee Straight Bourbon

Aged 12 years; 46.95% ABV; Batch 1; $87

Nose: Much more wood influence than the 8 year but also a ton more hickory smoke notes. Underneath all those smokey notes is some slight rye spice and burnt grilled corn. I can smell traces of multivitamin funk.

Taste: Some sweet wood notes up front that combine with some dark smokey notes in the finish. There are a lot of viscous oily smoke notes that remind me of Balcones Brimstone Texas oak scrubbed corn whiskey. The finish lasts forever but again it's mostly all thick oily smoke resin. 

Thoughts: I'm not feeling this at all. It's a bit of a mess and kind of tastes like a George Dickel barn burned to the ground. There are some redeeming qualities in that it has a pretty good amount of sweet and wood depth along with vitamin funk notes that while present are toned down. In this price range though you are competing with Barrell Tennessee sourced bourbons and I'd take any of those over this.

Rating: D+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

George Dickel 9yr McScrooge's vs. 14yr Buster's

Not too long ago I wrote a favorable review of George Dickel 17. While I liked it, it's not a value proposition at all and it would have been better at a higher proof. Sku mentioned the same in his review and went on to say that some of the private store selections he's had were better. Sku has been doing this a lot longer than most of us and I feel like I can trust his advice so I tracked down a couple of different store selections to see for myself.

George Dickel Selected by McScrooge's (Knoxville, TN)

Aged 9 years; 51.5% ABV; $56

Nose: Multivitamins, lots of corn, vanilla, and some light rye / anise spice.

Taste: Tastes just like the nose with a little more rye spice bite. The vitamin component is very forward as are the corn and sweet notes. The backend has some deeper cacao sweetness and a pretty hefty dose of wood in the finish. There's a lot of wood depth here for a 9 year old whiskey.

Thoughts: This is okay. My biggest complaint is the typical Dickel vitamin notes are way too prominent. That can be a big turn off for a lot of people and on some nights it really wears on me as well. Granted, this is a single barrel and there will be variance but I feel like this is probably very representative of 9 year old Dickel private selections. Given the price, I'll probably pass on any selections around this age in the future.

Rating: C+ / B-

George Dickel Selected by Buster's (Memphis, TN)

Aged 14 years; 53% ABV; $75

Nose: Old wood, intense vanilla, dark molasses. 

Taste: Lots and lots of oaky goodness - the wood depth here is really great. The ramped up proof has given it some heat and really amplified the rye spice notes. The prevalent vitamin and corn notes from the 9 year are there but well tamed. Overall, this is a really nice balance of proof, sweet, wood, and spice. 

Thoughts: I like this even more than the 17 year gift shop release. While it isn't quite as old, it still has a ton of wood depth which I feel is really needed to tame those weirdo Dickel flintstone vitamin notes. Another advantage it has going for it is the respectable proof. At 106 it has the umpf the 17 year was really missing and given that it is the same price for twice the volume, this is a clear winner in the quality to price ratio. I've heard rumors that these 14 year private selections are on hiatus which is a shame because I would buy this again.

Rating: B+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

George Dickel 17 Year Review

Earlier this week, George Dickel launched a new “Distillery Reserve Collection” that will only be available at the visitor center and a few select retail locations in Tennessee. The story behind the first release is an eye rolling tale that we’ve all heard before - basically, they found these barrels sitting in a warehouse where they had been forgotten. Either most of these stories are marketing bullshit or distilleries (Diageo in particular) are completely inept at inventory management. Regardless of how it came to be, what we ended up with is the oldest Tennessee Whiskey I’ve ever heard of and that certainly piqued my interest. I had always been looking for an excuse to visit the Dickel distillery so I drove down to the visitor center on Monday morning and picked up a few bottles for myself and friends.

Truth be told, I had some initial hesitation about this whiskey. There’s a reasonable chance it could be over-oaked and I hate to sound like a proof whore but the ABV is on the low side. My biggest worry though is that well known Flintstone vitamin taste that is associated with Dickel whiskeys. It’s a really odd flavor that I’ve never tasted it any other whiskey. While on some days I enjoy it, there are times when I find it off-putting. I was very curious to see if more years in the wood would help tone down some of those funky Dickel notes.

Aged 17 years; 43.5% ABV; $75 (375ml)

Nose: Rather intense. I swear I can smell it in the corked bottle if I am nearby. The low proof keeps the heat down but there is loads of vanilla, corn, and old oak. The vitamin/mineral flavor is certainly there making it obvious that this is a Dickel whiskey.

Taste: Pretty much like the nose. A ton of vanilla and corn up front, some rye spice in the middle, and lots of old wood throughout. The hallmark Dickel vitamin mineral notes are there but way toned down. The finish is where it falls the flattest as it’s on the thin side and fades rather quickly though I get some stone fruits as it lingers. There is some bitterness and funk in the old oak notes but it’s surprisingly sweet for the age. It tastes exactly like what I would expect from an extra aged George Dickel whiskey.

Thoughts: This turned out a lot better than I expected and I would go so far as to say it’s pretty nice. Sure the proof could be a little higher but other than that, I think it turned out really well. If I were to rating this on uniqueness, it would be a solid A as I’ve never really tasted anything like this. That alone makes it really craveable even if it isn’t my favorite pour.

Rating: B+

Value: I don’t factor price into my ratings. At $75 for a 375ml it’s certainly not a value but given the uniqueness and the fact that you may never be able to get something like this again, I have no regrets buying a bottle.

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Review

As I mentioned in my previous review of Old No. 7, regular Jack Daniels holds a lot of nostalgia for me as it was the first bourbon whiskey I ever regularly consumed. These days I can barely drink the standard version but I knew when this product was announced that nostalgic curiosity would get the better of me. I wasn’t so caught up that I lost my mind enough to buy a whole bottle though so fellow redditor /u/dannyg483 and I split a bottle. Spoiler alert: in hindsight, that was a smart play.

No Age Statement; 64.45% ABV; $65

Nose: After about 45 minutes of airtime in a Canadian glencairn, the nose is actually alright. Lots of brown sugar banana taffy, a decent amount of oak, typical caramel wood sugar sweets, and corn grain. The grainy new-make flavors make me guess this is pretty young and even with all the airtime it’s still breathes really hot. No surprises here - it smells just like what you would expect from a 135 proof Jack Daniels.

Taste: The front of the palate starts off unruly hot and the heat gets even worse as it goes. Underneath all that heat is a repeat of the nose with brown sugar, banana taffy, and smoky char being at the forefront. It’s stupid hot, so much so that I resorted to adding a little water which I rarely do. When I got this down to around 110 proof, the front and mid-palate where actually pretty pleasant with more sweetness and softer smoky char notes coming through. Unfortunately even when cut down, the finish was still a wretched mess that tasted something like charcoal chocolate covered bananas dipped in lava.

Thoughts: I commend Brown Forman for trying to do something different but this a miserable failure. My opinion, it’s just not an old enough to be ready for barrel proof. If this were about twice the age it might actually be really good. Granted, this is a single barrel product so this could very well just be a bad barrel but you have to question the quality control that let such a hot mess out into the wild. This bottle is getting regulated to old fashioned duty as I don’t think I can drink another glass on its own.

Rating: F

Value: As always, I don’t factor cost into my ratings but his bottle is a serious pass regardless of price. There are much older and much better barrel proof whiskeys available such as Stagg Jr and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof in this price range.

Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Review

Here's a review I didn't necessarily decide to do on my own but was part of my participation in one of /r/bourbon's regular community reviews.

40.0% ABV; $13.50 (375ml)

I haven’t drank Jack Daniels in 3 years and 11 months. I know that because I remember exactly where I was the last time I had it. I spent two weeks in Belfast in 2010. By the end of the two weeks I was deeply sick of Irish Whiskey and Guinness and the handful of other options that are consistently available there. I went into a bar and asked for the most ‘MURICAN think I could think of - a Jack n’ coke. They handed me a shot of Jack Daniels and a glass bottle of coca cola. Hah! I cut my teeth on this stuff in my 20’s, mainly mixed with coke. I somewhat cringed when I saw it as the community review but I figured I would suck it up since we have a history. Confession bear: I didn’t go to any of my regular stores to buy this, I didn’t want the shame.

Nose: Smokey charred oak. Sour fruits, old overly ripe bananas. Woody was always my biggest impression of Jack before I had a lot of whiskey experience and I think it still holds true today.

Taste: Decent mouthful. Fair amount of sweetness in the form of banana cream and a little caramel. It’s very easy but then again it’s only 80 proof.

Finish: Depressingly short, no doubt handicapped by the abysmally low 80 proof. There is a little harsh heat the lingers and some sweetness but the predominance is bitter char.

Notes: Charred wood and bananas are the two most notable things I get out of this one but unfortunately neither of those really excite me. The proof is much lower than I like and overall there is nothing interesting that would have me asking for it again. My biggest problem now is figuring out what to do with the rest of the bottle - I should have bought a smaller one.

Rating: D

Cumberland Cask Barrel Cut Tennessee Straight Whiskey Review

Cumberland Cask is a Nashville based whiskey that launched a few months ago. They currently have two offerings, the 80 proof Modern Expression priced around $30 and a more interesting 120 proof Barrel Cut priced around $40. Both are a blend of 6.5 and 8.5 year whiskeys from a high corn mash bill. It is not charcoal filtered which I suppose they are bypassing by not labeling it specifically a Tennessee Whiskey. Common wisdom is that this is rebranded George Dickel.

60% ABV; No Age Statement (reported to be blend of 6-8 years); $40

Nose: Grains, mostly barley; mild sweet corn; rye spice

Taste: Almost exactly the same as the nose but diminished corn; mostly grain, barley, and rye spice

Finish: Toasted corn, toasted bread. fair bit of heat. Nice smoky char but not overbearing. I really enjoy the toasted bread notes, that's a first for me. I mean, who doesn't like toast?

Notes: I love barrel strength whiskeys and try to go all in before adding any water. Sometimes that works out and I never want to add water for fear of diluting the profile. The first time round with this one without any water did not go well. All I got was heat and overbearing grain barley flavor. I cursed it off that day. I revisited it a week later with a few drops of water which made a dramatic improvement. All the flavors came alive whereas before it was a lot of angry heat which killed the sweet and left nothing but spice.

All in all, I like this one okay. Granted, I'm slightly partial since it is a hometown product but even so $40 for uncut Dickel is a fair deal. I really like the bottle design and branding, it’s very reminiscent of Eagle Rare and certainly looks better than a Dickel bottle so it’s got that going for it too.

Rating: C+