George Dickel (No. 12) Tennessee WhiskyThe George Dickel brand is best known as the “other” Tennessee Whiskey. Without going into the whole thing here, I’ll summarize by saying Tennessee Whiskey is straight bourbon whiskey (but don’t call it bourbon) that has been filtered through some quantity of sugar-maple charcoal. George Dickel, owned by Diageo, takes the extra step of chilling the whiskey before performing the filtering. This practice, called ‘chill filtration’, is now generally avoided by modern scotch producers who have found that consumers prefer not to have flavor compounds filtered out of their high-end whiskies. Dickel claims the chill-filtration through charcoal “mellows” the whiskey, removing harsh flavors. Maybe. Who knows. It certainly worked out in their rye.

George Dickel’s lineup includes several Tennessee whiskies including a “No. 8” which is comparable to Jack Daniel’s “Old No. 7” in the black bottle, a “No. 12” (this one) which includes older whisky in the blend and an extra 5% bottling strength, a Bottled-in-Bond 13-year, and a small batch “Barrel Select”. The Tennessee whiskies are all made at Dickel’s historic Cascade Hollow Distillery near Tullahoma, Tennessee, from a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. The “No. 12” (which has a large 12 on the label, something that I consider to be confusing for people accustomed to seeing ages of maturation so prominently featured) is actually aged between 6 and 8 years and bottled at 45% ABV. It is chill-filtered through sugar maple charcoal, like the rest of Dickel’s whiskies.

Nose: Oddly grassy, with notes of fresh-mown grass as well as something like pickle juice or sauerkraut. I’m now so preoccupied with the thought of pickle-flavored whiskey that I can’t detect anything else. Luckily the pickle note dissipates with a rest in the glass, leaving plain old green grass behind.

Nose: Oddly grassy, with notes of fresh-mown grass as well as something like pickle juice or sauerkraut. I’m now so preoccupied with the thought of pickle-flavored whiskey that I can’t detect anything else. Luckily the pickle note dissipates with a rest in the glass, leaving plain old green grass behind.

Palate: Soft, medium-bodied… almost heavy. A strong tongue burn is followed by an assortment of hard candies, cinnamon red hots, hay bales, lemon peel, and floor wax.

Finish: Finally some oak, with mild drying tannins and very little bitterness. Not particularly sweet, and a bit one-dimensional. Fades without evolving.

With Water: Several drops of water seem to have no effect on the aroma or palate, although it might make the finish a little sweeter. Water is optional here.

Overall: Uhh. Well, it’s probably better than Jack Daniels (which, admittedly, I haven’t had in years), but the combination of flavors is a little off-putting. Despite the low price, I can think of a number of regular old non-Tennessee whiskies that I’d rather drink: Four Roses, 1792, Buffalo Trace, Evan Williams, Old Bardstown, and even Wild Turkey 101. In fact, the George Dickel rye (made by MGP) is the same price and is far better in every way. Get that instead.