![]() ![]() We were ushered into the tasting room and were offered 5 samples of Dickel Whisky (well, Julia was driving, so Paul actually received 10 samples!).Of all the spirits, American whiskey has one of the biggest stories to tell. Then onto a tasting (really the part we had been waiting for all day!). It’s not a typo, it’s just the original distiller bragging about his product! Tasting House George Dickel Cascade Hollow in Tennessee Tasting George Dickel Next time you’re in a liquor store, have a look at a bottle. One quirk we learned was that George Dickel back in the day, thought his “American” whiskey was on par or better than Scottish whisky (they don’t use an “e”), so he spelled it like the Scots did without an “e”. George Dickel Cascade Hollow in Tennessee Like we learned on our bourbon tours, it’s all about attention to detail when making whiskey. They walked us through the journey a bottle of whiskey takes, from grinding the grains, through fermentation, to the distillation (including making the charcoal used to filter the whiskey). They go into detail, showing how their whiskey is made, and how most of the processes in this smaller distillery are still done by hand. Tour of George Dickel Cascade Hollow in Tennessee Touring George Dickel In fact, it was just us and another couple on the tour, which was a lot more enjoyable than following a large group. The George Dickel distillery is a lot smaller than the Jack Daniel’s distillery, and we didn’t have much of a wait for a tour. George Dickel Tennessee Whisky (not Whiskey)Īvoiding the long lines to tour the Jack Daniel’s distillery, we headed up the road to Cascade Hollow, where they create another of Tennessee’s popular whiskeys, George Dickel. Just up the road is another distillery, which we hoped wouldn’t be as busy. Not keen on waiting a few hours to get on a tour, we instead strolled through the visitor centre and around the grounds. Even though it was a weekday in late fall and out in the middle of Tennessee, it was by reservation only (or a long wait for a walk-up). We had planned on taking a tour, but when we arrived at the distillery, it was busy. Today, the distillery is huge, making up half of the small town (and they still use the same spring to source their water for every bottle of Jack Daniel’s). The distillery set up shop here in Lynchburg to take advantage of the abundant, clean, iron-free spring water found on the original property. Jack Daniel’s is the oldest distillery in the USA, first bottling their product back in 1866 (over 150 years ago). So we headed to the source, the Jack Daniels distillery. ![]() ![]() George Dickel Cascade Hollow in Tennessee The Jack Daniel’s DistilleryĪfter learning a little about Kentucky Bourbon back in Bardstown, we wanted to know what was special about Tennessee Whiskey. Of course, to get a “Kentucky bourbon” label, there are a lot more rules to follow, but that’s another story. ![]() So therefore, if a distillery in the USA makes two bottles of whiskey, one with 60% corn and one with 40% corn, and ages them both in new charred-oak barrels, then both can be called whiskey, but only one can be called bourbon. Whiskey doesn’t have such strict rules it is a spirit created by fermenting grains (wheat, barley, corn, and/or rye)-the combination of which gives each recipe its distinctive flavor. To simplify a lot (maybe oversimplifying, sorry bourbon connoisseurs), but for a bottle to be called “bourbon”, it must first be made in the USA, use more than 51% of corn and be aged in a new charred oak barrel. Tour of George Dickel Cascade Hollow in Tennessee ![]()
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