Color: A beautiful shade of amber, polished copper.
Nose: Corn bread, salted butter and that signature tartness of George Dickel that I love: Tomolives, dill pickles and olive brine. It gets a little sweeter after allowing it air a couple of minutes. Caramel popcorns and peanut brittles. After adding a few drops of water we have mostly all corn now. Corn on the cob, polenta and popcorn.
Palate: Unlike other Dickels it holds the sour notes on the palate. It must be the high abv. Green olives, green banana peppers and cornichons. Mouth covering with an oily texture. A little hot at cask strength but totally drinkable. Water opens it up... Yes, it erases most of the sour notes but the whisky still holds its complexity unlike what happened on the nose. Ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Toasted oak, unripe green plums and grapefruit peel.
Finish: Long and spicy... Black pepper, cloves and cinnamon.
Overall: This is one of the best George Dickel bottlings I have ever tasted... I think there were a couple store pick single cask bottlings which came close to this before but that's about it. I am not a big fan of high corn recipes but I'll take this dram anytime anywhere... Solid whisky and especially for this price... But at the end let's spare a few seconds and think about the journey of this whisky.. It distilled and aged in Tennessee, made the journey all the way to Holzbunge, Germany where it was bottled and placed on shelves. Then brought to Campbeltown by my dear friend Jens Fisher a.k.a. Whisky Quiz so we can taste and enjoy it together. And at the end half of the bottle returned with me back to US from Scotland but this time to Los Angeles and now it's sitting on my desk while I type this review. Fascinating story... Isn't it..? Thanks again to Jens for the sample.
Price: €55
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