I've always been a fan of George Dickel, the "other" Tennessee Whiskey overshadowed by it's more popular neighbor Jack Daniel's. While Dickel 12 remains one of the best deals around, I've often wondered why we never see any special releases from Diageo's only American whiskey distillery. It would be great to taste older or higher proof expressions.Well, we finally have one. Dickel apparently has a new barrel selection program, and Park Avenue Liquor is offering a 14 year old Dickel exclusive selection at 53% abv.
George Dickel 14 year old, Park Avenue Liquor Exclusive, 53% abv ($90)
This stuff smells exactly as you would expect. It's got all those mineral and lumber notes that are typical in Dickel along with some extra wood. The palate starts in with chocolate, then gets some of those mineral notes, some nice wood and a touch of maple syrup at the end. The finish is probably the weakest part of the tasting; it's a bit hot with oak and a vague mineral note along with some citrus.
This is exactly what I've been waiting for, a high proof, more aged Dickel that hits all the right notes. I can honestly say this is the first new bourbon release I've been excited about in quite a while. It's a bit pricey, but it's still available, and you know how the market is these days, so I would buy now if you're interested.
13 comments:
Thanks for the heads up on this... i was looking for something new, this might be up my ally.
How does it compare to the 10-12 year old Barrel Select? Are the barrel proof and the extra few years worth the $50 premium?
Carlton, excellent question. I didn't do any side by sides but it struck me as more similar to the 12 than the Barrel Select. (I'm not a fan of Barrel Select, which I find too sweet).
And I should note, while it's higher proof, it doesn't claim to be barrel proof.
The heightened age and proof definitely add complexity. Is it $70 better than the 12? That's hard to say, but I definitely enjoyed it, and given the world of whiskey today, well, there aren't many bargains out there, especially among new releases.
Ordered. Also a George Dickel fan who's wondered why Diageo couldn't be bothered to released any older/higher ABV versions. Looking forward to this.
Thanks for the info SKU. It does seem that big price jumps are better-received on new releases than existing products. (Another one that comes to mind is Russell's Reserve 10 Year Old vs. the new Small Batch Single Barrel.) I live about an hour and a half from Dickel, so I might have to pay a visit to the distillery shop. As a Dickel fan, I can't imagine I would be disappointed.
Sounds fantastic. Are they sold out now? I can't locate it on the site.
Unfortunately yes, it looks like they may have sold out. Maybe they have more barrels coming.
I drink both the 12 and the Barrel Select. I actually prefer the 12 though both are great.
The Party Source currently has both 14YO and 9YO George Dickel Private Hand Selected Barrel offerings. The 14YO is offered at $65.99, and the 9YO is offered at $45.99. Not bad, relative to the Park Avenue price on their 14YO. I've enjoyed several TPS private barrels in the past, so I ordered one of each, but with ground shipping, they won't arrive for another week.
Keep us posted bourbon4brains...I am ready to pull the trigger on the TPS ones as well.
I just received my TPS GD Barrel Select 14 YO today. $65 for 750ml, 53% abv (106 proof), which is the same strength as the Park Avenue Liquor bottle reviewed by sku. My guess is that these aren't barrel proof, unless Dickel is jumping through hoops in their vatting/batching process to get both of these at the same proof.
I poured roughly a couple ounces into a rocks glass, and let it breath for 20 minutes. Picking up the glass and nosing the whiskey, I get hit immediately by both familiarity and surprise. Present are the woody notes typical from Dickel, including old oak, and fresh-cut pine lumber. I get a whiff of citrus peel, too. The surprising part was the relative sparsity of those earthy, vitamin notes that you find in spades in the Dickel line; with this 14 year old, those aromas dance around in the shadows, very subdued. On the palate, I got an immediate hint of maple syrup sweetness, which was quickly overtaken by baking spices (primarily cinnamon, but with nutmeg and vanilla mixed in). Again, the earthiness and vitamin/mineral twang is almost absent, relative to say, the NAS Dickel Barrel Select. If you are a fan of the Dickel vitamin flavor, they are there, but they are not the star vocalist, or even the choir, but more like part of the instrumentalists hidden down in the orchestra pit (out of sight, out of mind, but they add positive notes to the whole performance). The finish lingers on the tongue, with a gentle spiciness that moves to the back of the throat, and slowly fades away, only to reappear as a nice warm feeling in my belly. This is really good whiskey, that goes down a lot easier than the 106 proof would suggest. I don't even want to add any water or cube of ice. I glance over to the bar at the bottle of George Dickel 9 YO that arrived in the same package today, and briefly entertain thoughts of popping that one open to sample, too. But, no, it will have to wait for another day. I'm just enjoying the bottle of 14 YO whiskey far too much to put it down right now.
I'm picking up many similarities to sku's notes on the Park Avenue Liquor bottle, but with some notable differences that I'm picking up in the TPS selection. At $65 per bottle, I will probably order another.
Just picked up a bottle of this today - a barrel select for HyVee, a midwestern grocery chain. Price was right - $60. Haven't decided how I feel about it just yet. (And really, since my palate isn't all that sophisticated, my feelings will likely boil down to "like it or don't."
Jason, what state are you in? I understand that Dickel 14 is allocated by state.
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