George Dickel Distillery

American Whiskey

The distillery was founded in 1870 by George A. Dickel in Cascade Hollows between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The businessman Dickel came to Tennessee from Nashville in 1867. Dickel dreamed of creating the world’s finest American whiskey, and within three years he had found the perfect spot. Cascade Hollows had excellent surroundings with good water supply and high-quality grains.

George Dickel died in 1894 but his wife continued to run the distillery together with her family. Whiskey from the George Dickel distillery had become very popular but the distillery had to close in 1910 due to the Tennessee Prohibition. A new location was found in Hopkinsville, Kentucky and production resumed for a time. In 1919 national Prohibition permanently forced them to cease distilling whiskey.

It would take 40 years until the distillery resurfaced with the help of the whiskey enthusiast and Master Distiller Ralph Dupps. Ralph had tasted Dickel whiskey at one time during his early years, and had never forgotten the experience. Working as a Master Distiller it was easy to set up the distillery again. He found land close to the old distillery in Cascade Hollows and bought the original manuscript for George Dickel whiskey. The first ‘new’ George Dickel whiskey bottles reached the shelves in 1964.

Today the George Dickel distillery is one of two Tennessee whiskey distilleries, Jack Daniels being the other. George Dickel distillery uses the Scottish spelling for whiskey, i.e. ‘whisky’ to emphasize its Scottish heritage. George Dickel is the only distillery in America who has a working post office at the site.

A Selection of George Dickel

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George Dickel

2006-03-26

TWE^*

Goerge Dickel 40% No:8

George Dickel No:12

Short Fact: Chills the whiskey before it is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal.

Character: Full-bodied and smooth. Vanilla and oak character.

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Production at George Dickel

George Dickel Distillery takes its water from Cascade Spring, it's source located about one-half mile up the road from the distillery. The composition of the grains used is a well kept secret. It is based on corn, malted barley and rye.

The cooking of the grain is done in three steps in two mash tubs. The corn is initially cooked alone to 212 degrees F and cooled to 180 degrees F. After that the rye is added and the grain mixture is cooked again, producing mash. A small amount of previous mash in used -sour mash. The mash is fermented for 3-4 days in one of the nine mash tubs. The mash is considered complete when it contains 6 percent alcohol by volume. The mash is double-distilled -first in a column still, also called a beer still, and the second distillation is done in a pot-still doubler.

The charcoal-filtering method was recognized as a unique production method in 1941. Since that date, Tennessee whiskey must be produced in the state of Tennessee and must also be charcoal-filtered. Charcoal filtering is done by allowing the spirit to filter through a layer of sugar maple charcoal. The charcoal is made up of locally grown burnt sugar maple trees. George Dickel chills it's whiskey before filtering it. According to the distillery, the reason is that George Dickel discovered he liked the whiskey he produced in the winter better than batches made during the hot summer. Unlike Jack Daniels, George Dickel does not allow the spirit to trickle out until the filter has been completely filled up.

Barrel aging at George Dickel is done according to regulations in new, charred American white oak barrels. The interior of the barrel is charred in order to caramelize the wood sugars and form a layer of flavor called The Red Layer. The barrels are aged for up to 12 years a short distance from the distillery in single-storied iron-clad warehouses.

The annually production is five million liters.

Contact George Dickel

1950 Cascade Hollow Rd.
Normandy, TN 37360

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Phone: (931) 857-3124

Master Distiller: Jennings D. Backus

Visitors: Tue - Sat 9am-4pm. Regular guided tours, last tour starts at 3:30pm. Closed during major holidays. The visitor centre has a vast selection of clothes,  accessories etc.

Owners: Diageo

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