George Dickel No 12 age?

[brian12069]

Does anyone know the age of this whiskey? Its quite a bit sweeter than most bourbons but non the less...a very enjoyable tennessee whiskey...anyone know the age?

[cowdery]

Since there is no age statement on the bottle, the true age is anyone's guess. The "No. 12" is supposed to make you think it's 12-years-old, but there is no reason to believe that is the case and every reason to believe it isn't. Tennessee whiskies mature fast because the charcoal mellowing process acts as a jump-start to aging. It's also likely that whiskies of different ages are combined to meet the desired taste profile. My guess would be that most of the whiskey in the mix is 5-6 years old.

[brian12069]

wow...you really think 5-6 years old?...I thought maybe just 3 or so...anyway it's good tastey stuff

[cowdery]

I was going to say that if it is less than four years old they have to say so, but that really isn't true with Tennessee Whiskey. From a legal standpoint, with Tennessee whiskey pretty much anything goes. They aren't bound by the requirements for straight bourbon, straight rye or any other "type" defined in the federal regs. They are bound by the legal definition of "whiskey," which is very generous, and by truth in labeling laws (they can't say something that is demonstrably untrue).

[mike1]

It does not make much sense to me ,but my Dickel No12 is distilled in Tennessee,but bottled in Canada. Apparantly they ship the stuff to a UD plant in Canada and then import it to the USA. Sounds a little convoluted to me

[ratcheer]

I'm too lazy to look up the thread, but this was discussed in depth two or three years ago. This year, they claim to have re-opened the distillery in Tennessee.

Tim

[ratcheer]

Here is that thread: Is Dickel in a pickle?

Tim

[cowdery]

Dickel resumed distilling in September, 2003.

[tlsmothers]

You can read about the reopening on this page off their site: George Dickel Reopens

[bourbonv]

When I was at United Distillers the Dickel 12 was 10 years old and actually sold overseas as Dickel 10yo instead of No. 12. They closed the distillery down for several years because of over production and have only restarted the distillery in the past year or so. This means that all of their aged whiskey is going to be at least 6 years old or so. My tasting experience with the product in the last few years is that it is about 12 year old whiskey or older. As production continues, I suspect they will bring it back to the 10 year old range.

Dickel does not age well pat 10 years old and I think a lot of the off taste that comes out in the present product is due to the extra age. Some people refer to this taste as a "Flintstone chewable vitamin" aftertaste. I don't think it is that drastic, but it is there in some part.
Mike Veach