Exclusive Casks: 100% Dickel, 100% Unique
George Dickel offers one of the most consistently great barrel programs around. Typically this involves a handful of barrel samples sent from the distillery for us to taste and select. These two casks got a little extra special treatment. Nicole Austin, the master distiller at George Dickel, personally visited our Redwood City store with six of her favorite barrels to show off. We ended up with her two favorites.
We all agreed that both barrels were classic Dickel while each offering their own unique profile. The hallmarks of great G.D. whiskey include buttered popcorn, caramel, candied corn, and chocolates. One cask has the buttered, creamy caramel component in spades—Cask K1002. The other cask, K1006, is the textbook chocolate and mocha profile blended with sweet corn. Both are fantastically good, and, in combination, paint a complete picture of the magic of Tennessee whiskey. Bottled at a perfect 51.5%, these two casks, hand picked with and by the master herself, are the perfect reference points for one of the best whiskies the Volunteer State has to offer. Not to mention, their price of only $44.99 makes them among the most sharply priced single barrels in the market today.
George Dickel “K&L Exclusive” 9 Year Old Single Barrel #L8263K1002 Tennessee Whiskey (750ml) ($44.99)
We were honored to have Nicole Austin, general manager and head distiller for George Dickel, visit our Redwood City store with a set of cask samples for K&L to select from. It was exciting to get to to taste with someone so familiar with the whiskies. We followed her general rule of tasting silently through the entire lineup so as to not influence each other’s opinions of the whiskies. Of a set of six casks, two were stand outs. Austin simultaneously chose her favorite two, and we had matched on one barrel, while each of our second choices was the other’s third.
Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 03, 2019
High toned in comparison to its sister cask K1006. K1002 is brimming with buttered popcorn, caramel, hard candy, and lighter fruitier tones. The fruit really comes through once your glass is empty. With the alcohol evaporated and just the aromatics left in the glass there is a world of banana cream and apple pies and cooked stone fruits that opens. It’s a characteristic that makes this one of the sexiest G.D. casks we’ve ever bottled.
David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 24, 2019
Every time we taste another barrel of Dickel we’re reminded of how special the old distillery at Cascade Hollow really is. If this stuff were distilled 250 miles north and had the words “Straight Bourbon” on it, there’s no doubt that we wouldn’t be getting as many casks, but because it’s not bourbon (in name only) it just doesn’t have the clout that it might have. Nonetheless, for those in the know, they understand that any opportunity to try these should not be ignored. This cask in particular has really got me going. The nose is a bold mixture of grade B maple syrup, exotic woods and old leather. The palate is drier and spicer than most Dickels and takes us into the cinnamons, peppers and subtle dark mineral flavors. The whole thing keeps from feeling too tannic at the end with touches of honey and sweet tea. An odd but wonderful example of this special whisky.
Neal Fischer | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 19, 2019
Boozy and spicy and a sweety too. This Dickel has a powerful aroma that delivers a lot of character of classic Dickel Tennessee whisky. I’m picking up on clove, pepper, and cayenne playing nicely with dark caramel notes. The palate is initially softer than I first expected, lacking the strong alcohol notes I detected right away on the nose. It starts with soft oak flavors and those rich caramel notes. But then the spice builds across the palate becoming nicely intense. As the spice medley grows in strength, the sweeter components drop into the background with the palate becoming more dry and earthy as I sip and roll the liquid around my tongue. The spice builds to a lovely climax, topping off with a hefty dose of menthol making for a long finish that is equal parts spicy and cooling.
William Beare | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 18, 2019
Well coat me with sea salt and honey and call me “shortbread.” This is some fine-drinking bourbon. The nose is explosive, with a thread of saline, ocean brine cutting through the sinuses in more single-malt-fashion, bolstered by shortbread cookie and caramel candy (on the nose and palate). The first few moments of the palate keep up this fun whiskey ruse, until the familiar bourbon qualities finally join the party. Chai spices start to emerge as the whiskey begins to feel more texturally complex (chewy, if you will). The finish is long, clean, and goes out on a savory, cedar note.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 07, 2019
I usually taste cask proof products with and without water. This barrel I think is much better with a small splash of water. Although good without water, the water really opened this bourbon up, bringing flavors and aromas to their best expressions. With water the the nose is sweet, rich caramel with pretty floral notes. In the mouth it is concentrated with the caramel and subtle spice flavors. There is a nice mouth feel to this whiskey.
Jackson Lee | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 05, 2019
This is a whiskey for the candy lovers. The nose gave off what I could only picture to be a See’s milk chocolate candy truffle with raspberry nougat filling kept in a wooden box. End of story. While I usually avoid that particular selection in the mixed chocolate box, it was very alluring to the nose and I loved how the bright, fruity esters played against the chocolate. The palate told a similar story except the fruitiness was more like cherry syrup, vanilla, and a very rich and opulent texture and sweetness. Roasted coffee notes started to come out at the end and the raspberry snuck back into the party as it was dying down. This is a must have for those Tennessee whiskey lovers.
George Dickel “K&L Exclusive” 9 Year Old Single Barrel #L8269K1006 Tennessee Whiskey (750ml) ($44.99)
This barrel (K1006) showcases the darker side of Dickel – it’s loaded with cocoa and mocha. Chocolate covered popcorn and fresh cream permeate the nose, palate, and finish. It’s deliciously sweet, but never cloying. The 51.5% keeps everything humming along and feeling bright.
Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 03, 2019
Sweet milk chocolate marries beautifully with spicy dark cocoa nibs and freshly churned butter. The sweet and salty nature of roasted corn shines through. There is a charming pepper spice that livens up the finish and leaves this cask feeling brighter and fresher than the first nosing would indicate. Caramel and vanilla dance throughout the glass, weaving in and out from start to finish. It’s a gem of a Dickel cask. As always, proofed at 51.5, just right.
David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 24, 2019
Wow, another killer selection of Dickel from Whiteley here. This is much more classic than the 1002 cask, showing tons of deep honey, toffee, vanilla bean and sweet corn. It has some hints of freshly roasted espresso bean, peach tea, sandalwood and none of the cinnamon that the other cask shows. It’s so rich and sweet on the entry it almost feels sweetened, but then some oak tannin appears in the middle and finishes with a pleasing peppery note. Altogether one of the most balanced and approachable whiskies in the store. Always shocked that these don’t fly off the shelves until people taste them, but we’re slowly finding more and more people calling themselves lovers of the other Tennessee Whiskey. A real treat to drink and sell.
William Beare | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 19, 2019
Sweet flower petals and potting soil. The nose of this bourbon definitely gave me flashbacks to tagging along with mom to the garden center where intoxicating smells abound. Rich peaty soils, chopped lumber, and fragrant floral notes swirl around my head as the whiskey swirls in the glass. On the palate, ultra-dark chocolate, softened by a creaminess that is surprisingly delicate after the intensity of the nose. There’s fruitiness here too, like a spiced apple compote. Where many bourbons put me in mind of a rich dessert, this one puts me in mind of a hearty breakfast. So…drink this for breakfast? Perhaps not. But I can’t think of a better pairing than waffles for dinner and a nice dram of this single barrel.
Neal Fischer | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 18, 2019
I always love the spicy little numbers from Dickel the best, so yes, I have a bias here. I pick up on chili pepper, fresh cracked black pepper, clove, intense vanilla, and a little star anise. Those spices dance on top of a foundation of caramel and orange marmalade. There’s also a slightly toasty and very dusty oak profile that completes the package. This bottling’s palate is similar to the other Dickel barrel we bought in that the spice level gradually increases throughout the sipping experience showing off Dickel’s intensity of robust qualities. Here, though, those spices stay more integrated with the woody and fruity elements. This bottling is a display of both power and balance.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 07, 2019
This single barrel of George Dickel is delicious and pleasant. It has a nice velvet mouth feel with some subtle dry wood notes. It continues on to be sweet and easy with caramel richness. It is not heavy or big but a balanced and delicious bourbon.
Jackson Lee | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 05, 2019
This Tennessee whiskey is right in my wheelhouse. So much going on in the nose, starting with the fruitiness of baked apples and strawberry combined with more robust notes of toffee, earthy mushroom, and roasted coffee. The palate was rich and full of toffee, caramel corn, and Asian pear. The finish was mild but gave off a very pleasant, sweet, charred wood flavor.
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