Tennessee Whiskey

George Dickel Barrel Select Tennessee Whisky Review

We shift from Jack Daniel’s to “the other guy”- George Dickel.  George Dickel Tennessee Whisky (they leave out the ‘e’ from whiskey) is Jack Daniel’s main competition.  The company can loosely be traced back to the mid-to-late 1800s, just like Jack Daniel’s.  They put out three aged whiskies:  George Dickel No. 8, George Dickel No. 12, and George Dickel Barrel Select.  This post looks at the latter.  (Review sample provided by Taylor Strategy)

George Dickel Barrel Select

George Dickel Barrel Select is a 10 barrel small batch whisky.  It’s not a single barrel, although some retailers can select a single barrel of George Dickel and sell it.  George Dickel Barrel Select is the highest-priced whisky in their normal lineup.  According to their website, it’s aged between 10 and 12 years and comes in at 86 proof.

I get tons of caramel, vanilla and oak when I nose it.  It comes in smooth, a term you don’t usually associate with whiskey.  This whisky is syrupy in that it coats your mouth.  There is lots of sweet caramel at first, followed by a little bit of spiciness.  I’d even describe this as a little buttery… kind of like eating a toffee candy.    The finish is sweet.  It’s not quick, but it doesn’t linger.

This is the first George Dickel product I’ve tasted.  I was going to start with their value label George Dickel No. 8 and work my way up, but decided to go against the grain here.  Let’s start at the top.  I’m glad I did.  Simply put, this may be the smoothest, most flavorful Tennessee Whiskey I’ve tasted.  This will run you about slightly north of $40 a bottle.

8.5/10

Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select Tennessee Whiskey Review

In the Jack Daniel’s family, there’s one ultra premium selection:  Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select Tennessee Whiskey.  It’s their tribune to a long and fruitful relationship with Frank Sinatra.  Before Sinatra, Jack Daniel’s was a small regional brand.  According to the company, Ol’ Blue Eyes held up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s onstage and called it the “nectar of the gods.”  That small Tennessee whiskey company was never the same again.  Sales went through the roof, and to this day it remains the best selling American whiskey in the world.  It’s well known Sinatra loved his Jack Daniels.  He drank it with a couple of ice cubes and a splash of water.  There is even a bottle of Jack Daniel’s buried with him.

Photo courtesy of Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Photo courtesy of Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select starts off with whiskey aged in special grooved barrels, or Sinatra barrels.  They cut deep grooves in oak barrels, exposing the whiskey to more wood.  When it comes to maturation, these special grooved barrels are mixed with barrels from the upper floors of their warehouses usually reserved for Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel.  The intended result is a whiskey that’s bold and smooth – words usually associated with Frank Sinatra.

(Please note:  the Jack Daniel’s Distillery sent me a review sample.)  On the nose, there’s overwhelming oak and vanilla on top of the traditional Jack Daniel’s sweet nose.  Taste-wise, Jack’s always been a sweet whiskey, but here that sweetness is held in check by the oak.  I don’t find it overly oaky, but if you’re not a fan of oak in your whiskey you’re probably not going to like this one.  Look past the initial sweet oakiness and there’s a little fruit and spice.  The finish is no where near as rough as Old No. 7, but is about as sweet.  How should I describe this whiskey?  It’s almost like putting a tuxedo on Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7.  It’s definitely more refined than their standard black label.  However, it’s not a super-complex whiskey…but  I don’t think they were aiming to make a super-complex whiskey.  That being said, there’s lots more happening here than in a glass of their Old No. 7 black label.

Photo courtesy of Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Photo courtesy of Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

My only gripe is the price.  This 90 proof Sinatra Select will run you about $165 for a liter.  This seems unreasonably high to me.  Maybe you’re paying extra for the packaging (which is pretty classy) or the Sinatra name on the bottle.  I’d be willing to pay $75 or even a $100 if I’m feeling generous to myself, but $165 is hard to swallow.

The price sucks, but the whiskey is fantastic.

8.5/10

What’s Tennessee Whiskey?

Over the course of the next several weeks, I’m diving head first into Tennessee Whiskey.  There are two giants in the Tennessee whiskey world:  Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel.  I’ll be looking at several of their offerings, and next week I’ll post an interview I recently conducted with Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett.  To kick things off, let’s answer the question:  what’s Tennessee whiskey?

Tennessee whiskey has been made with pretty high standards for well over a hundred years, but it wasn’t until recently that it was put into law. In April of 2013, Tennessee passed house bill #1084 into law.  That bill defines rules for a spirit to be called Tennessee whiskey.  There are seven of them.  To be called Tennessee whiskey, a spirit must be:

  1. Manufactured in Tennessee;
  2. Made of a grain mixture that is at least fifty-one percent (51%) corn;
  3. Distilled to no more than 160 proof or eighty percent (80%) alcohol by volume;
  4. Aged in new, charred oak barrels in Tennessee;
  5. Filtered through maple charcoal prior to aging;
  6. Placed in the barrel at no more than 125 proof or sixty-two and one half percent (62.5 %) alcohol by volume; and
  7. Bottled at not less than 80 proof or forty percent (40%) alcohol by volume.

These are the same rules distillers must follow when making bourbon, with a couple of exceptions:  Bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States and doesn’t have to be filtered with maple charcoal prior to aging.  The maple charcoal filtering is generally referred to as the Lincoln County process.  At one point the Jack Daniel’s distillery was located in Lincoln County, TN.  County lines were redrawn and it now resides in Moore County.  The process refers to drip filtering new distillate through maple charcoal (like Jack Daniel’s) or steeping the maple charcoal in vats of the new distillate (like George Dickel).  It’s said this kind of filtration removes the harshness of the new spirit.  Critics say it removes some of the flavor and body of the spirit.

Another difference is that to be called bourbon, a spirit must age at least two years in the barrel.  Tennessee whiskey rules do not cover minimum aging.  However, most Tennessee whiskey out there is aged at least two years, and can technically call themselves bourbon whiskey.

Now Tennessee whiskey is an official sub-sect of American whiskey, along with bourbon and rye. If you haven’t tried Tennessee whiskey beyond Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, please do so.  That’s just one expression of Tennessee whiskey.  Like bourbon, Tennessee whiskey ranges in flavor between expressions.  You’re still reading?   Get out there and taste some Tennessee whiskey!