Just got back from Dickel and Jack...

[granola82]

So, I went home (Tennessee) for a couple of days and I convinced my parents to go on the Dickel and Jack tours with me. We had a lot of fun on the tours and the scenery was amazing.

Now, I'll have to say, I find the JD/GD comparison to be kinda pointless but I thought I would share some of the info that I managed to write down or remember. Keep in mind that this is coming from our tour guides and from my memory of the day so the accuracy could be a little off in some cases.

Dickel: Mash Bill: 86 corn, 7 rye, 7 barley. Yeast is a commercially available version made in Maryland. 80 Barrels per day. All controls are done by hand. 33 employees. Average age of whisky: 8 for No. 8, 8-10 for No. 12, 12-13 for Barrel Select and 13-14 for the Barrel Select #1 ($65 per bottle in gift shop). Gift shop: Country style building with bottles, etc. and a nice lady behind the counter.

Jack: Mash bill: 80 corn, 8 rye, 12 barley. Yeast? Couldn't hear the tour guide. 900-1500 barrels per day (dang!!!). Computer controlled with a room that looked like NASA! 400+ employees. Average age of whiskey: 4-6 years. Gift shop: Located in town square. Huge. Absolutely everything you could ever imagine...and then some.

Other things to note:
-Yes, the rumors(and postings) are true. Dickel No. 8 won't be available for a while. Some of you may have seen some of the shelf tags at your local store and they had postcard sized things explaining the situation as well. The tour guide said it was due to the closing of the distillery and the subsequent increase in demand.
-Both of the distilleries are in the rolling hills of middle Tennessee but the Dickel site is in such a beautiful and isolated spot. If you're on your way from Chattanooga to Nashville then it's well worth a visit.

[Gillman]

Thanks for that, good notes. Interesting that the mash bills are being disclosed.

Gary

[granola82]

Yep...I thought that was interesting as well. How accurate are they? Not sure. I haven't had the chance to compare them with the article from Malt Advocate or Chuck's various postings. But, this seems to confirm the theory that Dickel is heavy on the corn and light on the rye.

[nor02lei]

the Dickel site is in such a beautiful and isolated spot. If you're on your way from Chattanooga to Nashville then it's well worth a visit.

I really second that statement. An unbelievably beautiful place. Not even the Woodford plant can compete with it in this sense and that don’t say little.

Leif

[cowdery]

The Jack mash bill is the same one I have and I have them filling 10,500 barrels a week, so 1,500 a day might actually be a little low, depending on how many days they run each week. As for Dickel, it's inconceivable that they only fill 80 barrels a day. Eighty an hour would be more like it. They're not as big as Jack, of course, but they have to be filling a couple hundred barrels a day, at least.

[polyamnesia]

though neither is on my need list, i take Dickel any day...

interesting facts though. sounds like JD is the Disney World of middle TN whiskey world.....

[MikeK]

Sounds like you had a great time. I swung through the area in Sept. on the way to the bourbon festival. It rained a lot the day I toured both distilleries, which stunk for me, but was much needed by the locals.

Here's a shot of making charcoal at Jack Daniels and the gift shop at Dickel.

[BourbonJoe]

If I ever moved, it would be to a place like Cascade Hollow. A beautiful place indeed.
Joe :usflag:

[TnSquire]

If I ever moved, it would be to a place like Cascade Hollow. A beautiful place indeed.
Joe :usflag:

I used to live so close to the Dickle site that I would get mail that listed my address as Cascade Hollow.

It is a great place to live. The area between Dickle and Normandy Lake would top my list of places to live. Its quiet, pretty hilly and you can be in civilization in 30-45 minutes.

[squire]

Good pictures Mike, and that stream in front of the store, for those who may not know, is the famous Cascade Creek that flows through Cascade Hollow, perhaps is even the source of the name, and originally served as the water supply for Cascade whiskey which eventually was renamed George Dickel. The creek was one of the reasons the distillery was sited there in the first place.

Regards,
Squire