Jack Daniel's Gentleman Jack Tennessee Whiskey Review:

Hello everyone! Hope your summer of camping and barbeques are going well. Besides the the heat that I will never get used to in California, my summer is turning out to be a good one. I've had some nice mini vacations and I've been sampling lots of tasty treats. This review is one I've been putting off for quite some time now, but due to the popularity and request value of this particular bottle, here I am. Obviously Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7 is the number one selling American whiskey in the world, made popular by Frank Sinatra…. yada yada yada. As I have reviewed the “other Tennessee whiskey” George Dickel, before I get into this review of Jack’s older brother, I would like to go through again what makes a Tennessee whiskey. It is currently in the works for the Lincoln Country Process, i.e. charcoal filtration, to become a mandatory state law for anyone who wants to call their whiskey "Tennessee Whiskey," but as of yet there is no regulation requiring producers in Tennessee to go through this process. However, distilleries like Jack Daniels and Dickel have set the bar and created a pressure which at this point still seems to be holding the statuesque on charcoal filtration. Though a specific process there is not – Jack Daniels filters the whiskey as it comes out of the still (creating a cleaner palate), whereas Dickel chills it down before filtration (leaving some of the rougher edges in the distillate). While some might turn up their noses to filtration of this sort, it produces a unique and sought after taste; distinctive almost solely to Tennessee. Gentlemen Jack toes the same line as Old Number 7, yet having gone through the charcoal filtration twice, and having only those barrels picked from the lower levels of the rickhouse, it produces an even cleaner, crisper, and dare I say “smoother” palate.

Jack Daniel's Gentlemen Jack Review:

Price: From $24-28 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: Love the bottle. Stylish and fits nicely into the Jack lineup. However, there is no information on the label whatsoever. And stating the whiskey is rare from a producer like this, when you can find the product in every grocery store across the nation, is a bit of a stretch.

Alcoholic Content: 40% abv, 80 proof. Should we expect more from Jack Daniels? I wouldn’t go as far as saying that. As I’ll discuss below, the 80 proof is much more calculated, rather than simply for lower cost/production.

Nose: I’m surprised by this nose. Vibrant and sweet. Caramel custard notes, spicy floral, red fruits dominate. Less harsh than Number 7. This is the shining act for Gentleman Jack.

Palate: Red fruit, red hots, spice, raisins. Slightly underdeveloped phenolic/sharpness. The finish is where this whiskey is most disappointing. Give it a drop of water and some time. Time does wonders to this whiskey. Spiciness lengthens and caramel sweetness rounds out - diminishing some of the harsher characteristics. 

Conclusion: I have to say I am a bit surprised by some of the reviews of this product. But understandably so, it appears that most tend to think a higher priced, premium expression means a smaller craft produced product. However, Gentleman Jack was not designed as an extra special product for consumers that gravitate towards the likes of Jim Beam’s Small Batch collection. It isn’t playing to that crowd. If anything it is doing the opposite. It is appealing to a wider audience than Jack Daniel’s Number Seven, while presenting itself as a sipper, not to be mixed, where Number Seven does best. It’s 80 proof, more mellow, tame, and purposefully devised as so. If you want something more complex and interesting, look at Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, or any number of bourbons in the same price range as Gentleman Jack. Truth be told this is not a bad whiskey, it just might be a bit lackluster for some.

Rating: Good/Recommended

George Dickel Barrel Select Whisky Review:

Approaching this Tennessee whiskey I had an expectation that it would be good. I’m quite a fan of George Dickel Number 12 and with such great quality at such a reasonable price I expected it’s more mature brother to be even better. Not only was I pleased with Dickel Barrel Select, I was pleasantly surprised; something which only happens rarely. Dickel Barrel Select, the distilleries small batch whiskey, only legitimizes George A. Dickel & Co as a distillery worth holding the marker as a true Tennessee whisky.  

To reiterate what makes Dickel unique, especially compared to its close neighbor Jack Daniels, the whisky is double-distilled: first using a column still and second utilizing a pot still. It is then chilled and charcoal mellowed before barreling (i.e. Lincoln County Process). Unlike Jack Daniels, the “other distillery” employs a higher proportion of corn, utilizes proprietary yeast strains and stores the whisky in a single story warehouse. So what about the review?

George Dickel Tennessee Whisky Review:

                                    

Price: Around $39.95 for a 750ml bottle.

Packaging/Labeling: A lovely short and stout bottle with a wooden cork topper. Classy.

Alcoholic Content: 86 Proof, 43% ABV. 

Nose: Nice strong corn nose with caramel, leather, mint and maple oak. Direct and well rounded.

Tasting: Begins with huge corn on the front palette. It hits you aggressively, yet controlled and assertive with a little spice. Some later candy corn notes turn into a wonderful maple syrup and buttery goodness one associates with pancakes. Its medium finish ends with a fresh and minty oak foundation.

Conclusion: Dickel is very much an underrated whiskey from Tennessee and, as the Barrel Select shows us, a hidden treasure. Indeed, Diageo does not even have the brand listed on its site. Yet as much as I love having it all to myself, I hope that sooner or later, it will receive some of its due recognition from its owners. As Jason Pyle says in his Jack Daniels Single Barrel verses Dickel Barrel Select comparison review, "It’s too bad those morons from Diageo continue to treat it like a red headed stepchild, because the whiskey Dickel produces is some of the best in the country for the dollar." I can definitely reiterate that. This whisky is worth much more than its weight in gold - and a great gift, as it was in my case!

Best In Class: George Dickel Superior No. 12 Review

"There are only three laws [of distilling success]: 

Quality, quality, quality." - Ralfy Mitchell

The first review I attempted in the woods was George Dickel Number 12, a true Tennessee whiskey. In the whole of Tennessee there are only four legal distillers: Jack Daniels, George Dickel, Collier and McKeel, and Benjamin Prichard. Of the four, Jack Daniels, owned by Brown-Forman of Louisville, Kentucky, not surprisingly overshadows the other three in production, due to it being the number one selling whiskey in the United States. But besides the incredible output of Jack Daniels, the four Tennessee distillers have more in common than they are distinct. They are all, by law, Tennessee whiskey. And as the great Ralfy Mitchell sums it up in his whiskey review of George Dickel Number 12, “in my view Tennessee whiskeys are bourbon, but before their bourbon, their Tennessee whiskey.”

Legally established under NAFTA, Tennessee whiskey is “a straight Bourbon Whiskey authorized to be produced in the state of Tennessee.” Why is this important? Tennessee whiskey usually has a grain mashbill in the same range as most bourbons, but what differentiates Tennessee whiskeys from bourbons, other than the state they are all born in, is the utilization of maple charcoal filtration prior to bottling. This maple charcoal filtration leaches out some of the fusel oils and impurities, claimed by the distillers to make the whiskey “smoother.” And perhaps most important, this method undeniably provides the whiskey with a sweet maple sugar taste, giving a unique and important stamp to identify Tennessee whiskey.

Today I’ll be reviewing George Dickel Superior Number 12 Brand. Somewhat of a cult Tennessee whiskey and based in the city of Tullahoma, George Dickel is presently owned by Diageo. Dickel is much considered the “other” Tennessee whiskey compared to that of the Jack Daniels giant. Besides the obvious Scottish spelling of whisky to Jack Daniels using an “e,” Dickel chills the whisk(e)y down before transferring it into the barrel. This purifies the whisky by allowing the vegetal composition from the grains to solidify for the charcoal to catch. 

George Dickel Superior No. 12 Review:

Price: Around $19.99 for a 750ml bottle. 

Packaging/Label: Somewhat typical old-school American whiskey label with a good amount of legend to peruse. I actually think the bottle is a really good representation of the whiskey, in that it is an unassuming, neat and clean bottle with an inexpensive screw top, signifying quality without hubris. 

Alcohol Content: 45% alcohol by volume, 90 proof. 

Color: Soft bullion. 

Tasting: Refined corn, but not an overly sweet corn. This is nothing which will knock you over. Honey – dark forest honey and pepper. Not necessarily a green whiskey, but young no doubt, which speaks to the four years it’s in the barrel. Floral and perfume – old school tones, which make me think of something like a bed and breakfast in a small town. Maple-wood vanilla and fire grilled pineapple. Dried apricots and fruit, almost a trial-mix aroma. 

Flavor: The sweetness of the corn becomes pronounced in the palette which then develops into a nice brown sugar and butter. Very much like biting into a nicely seasoned corn on the cob. The pepper note is less pronounced and yet there are some real flavorful spices going on. They are herbal in nature, lining up with the perfume/popery notes in the nose. No wood spices. The noticeable buttered corn throughout develops on the end palette into a wonderful vinegar and fruity flavor and texture. 

Water: Water can be added, though I found not overly necessary. Lessons the sweet corn flavor and increases the fruit. Salt and vinegar which dies away in the finish. 

Conclusion: This is an outstanding whiskey for the price range. In the opinion of Jason Pyle of the Sour Mash Manifesto, he explains this is possibly one of the top three whiskeys for its price range in the world! The nose is a bit light but if you’re into bourbon and the corn based spirits then I defiantly encourage and recommend you pick this up. It’s something you can drink by yourself, but not feel guilty for letting your less experienced friends drink it without pause.