ThomasH Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Thats Diageo for you. I take it that Dickel had some asbestos isssues that needed abated before it could reopen. S-W has some too. They should spend the money on S-W and crank it back up. It would be mile cheaper than the expansions they have undertaken in Scotland in recent years!Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 You are correct about asbestos being an issue at S-W but I think the problem at Dickel had to do with treatment of the process water they typically return to the environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shell Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Dickel kind of takes care of itself and sells where it sells. Investment in trying to sell more hasn't paid off. They've got their customers, who will buy it whether they advertise it or not, but they haven't found anything that will move the needle. Plus the warehouses are full so they can't increase production without building more warehouses. They've told me they are rising with the tide--when American whiskey sales increase overall theirs increase at about the same rate--so they are growing at a managed pace. Because their marketing costs are so low, the brand is small but profitable. There's also the thing of great big Diageo not giving much attention to something so small, especially since it is performing pretty well on the balance sheet. Bulleit, by contrast, is competing for share in a dynamic segment.Thanks for the insight, Chuck. Jack Daniel's is one of the world's largest selling spirit and, I believe, sells more whiskey than all other American brands combined. It may be that Diageo also realizes that they are unable to stand Dickel against Jack Daniel's in head-to-head competition and, as you say, are content with Dickel's current market share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Daniel's is the largest selling whiskey in the world, bigger than any single scotch brand too, and it outsells Dickel by several orders of magnitude, but it only sells a little more than Jim Beam and certainly does not sell more than all other American brands combined.Diageo is funny. It's like being in a big family. You get attention sometimes when you least expect it. They may just decide to put a push on for Dickel one of these days.Part of the issue, I think, is supply. They keep making a little more each year and they're selling all they can make, so why spend money to generate demand they can't supply? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shell Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Daniel's is the largest selling whiskey in the world, bigger than any single scotch brand too, and it outsells Dickel by several orders of magnitude, but it only sells a little more than Jim Beam and certainly does not sell more than all other American brands combined. ...Chuck, Thanks for information - and for the correction to my impression about Jack Daniel's volume. Shell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I wish I knew how much Evan Williams sells, but privately-owned Heaven Hill doesn't give out sales figures. I know it's number three behind Jack and Jim. I suspect it's a very distant number three but I don't know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmckenzie Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I did notice they have a new website. Better than their old one. I love the stuff. It has always been the whiskey I will treat myself with. I just wish it was not so damned expensive up here. A 750 of the cascade hollow is 24 bucks and it gets higher from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flintlock Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 It's just really, really nice whiskey. I only wish it was 100 proof.The distillery has to be among the hardest to find in the country - I got lost both going and coming when I swung by there on the way up to the Sampler. Whoever settled Cascade Hollow must have found it by accident... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boss302 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 George Dickel No. 8 has become my "Daily Sipper." I have plenty of real, authentic "Bourbon" whiskeys in my collection, but sitting back with a couple glasses of No. 8 is one of life's simple pleasures. I simply cannot find a "bourbon-esque" whiskey of more smoothness, refinement, and affordability than George Dickel No. 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Tasting the current George Dickel Barrel Select which is - for once the word is justified - a smooth, characterful drink of whiskey. No taste of "crunchy vitamins", which characterized the brand (all iterations) some years ago IMO and I found off-putting. A silkier shot of U.S. whiskey would be hard to envisage. Kudos to Dickel for putting a renewed emphasis on this brand at least - now I'll try the others again.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutton Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Tasting the current George Dickel Barrel Select which is - for once the word is justified - a smooth, characterful drink of whiskey. No taste of "crunchy vitamins", which characterized the brand (all iterations) some years ago IMO and I found off-putting. A silkier shot of U.S. whiskey would be hard to envisage. Kudos to Dickel for putting a renewed emphasis on this brand at least - now I'll try the others again.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 The bottle was recently bought in Florida but looking at the label, I see it states on the back "Hand Selected in 2006", so perhaps it was bottled five years ago. I don't detect any charcoal scents - some Dickel does have that, but not this one. Perhaps they differ (the various bottlings) to some degree, being a small batch. I would think the charcoal notes will lift over time, I find this occurs in general with Tennessee whiskey. Anyway this bottle was a winner and I'll deinitely try Dickel again (any brand of it).Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightBoston Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Anyway this bottle was a winner and I'll deinitely try Dickel again (any brand of it).A brave statement, Gary -- I always enjoy No. 12 but I find the 3yo red-label Cascade Hollow to be unforgivably hot and harsh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillman Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I agree, I meant the black and beige labels. I tried the red label twice and was very disappointed. But I'll give the others a try for sure based on the quality of this small batch bottling.Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 The Dickel distillery at its best makes a very well-balanced whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmpyle Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Indeed Dickel does make a beautifully balanced whiskey. I feel the No.8, while a tad flat, is a very nice whiskey. No. 12 I'd categorize as an excellent whiskey at any price. Factor in value and it gets even better. The barrel select bottle I just purchased and reviewed was outstanding. Very much in line with No. 12, but as you would expect a bit more barrel and spice flavors, which translated as slightly better than No. 12 for me (price removed from the equation of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Back to the original thread topic, "What's Diageo's problem?" I break it down in the current issue of WHISKY Magazine (No. 97). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 Back to the original thread topic, "What's Diageo's problem?" I break it down in the current issue of WHISKY Magazine (No. 97).Just read it Chuck...great article. So if Diageo buys Beam do you think they will jettison Dickel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 "Kick to the curb" doesn't necessarily mean 'jettison.' They'll only get rid of brands that give them anti-trust problems, which Dickel won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 The other thing that the acquisition would give Diageo is Laphroaig, which sells more than any of Diageo's single malts, though they already have two peated Islays in their portfolio (Lagavulin and Caol Ila) as well as Talisker from Skye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 If Diageo bought Beam Inc. it would probably have to unload just about everything except the bourbons, although it could choose to keep some of Beam's brands, such as Laphroaig, and sell some of the competing ones it now owns, such as Talisker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clingman71 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Great article. I drove through Cincy today, its been 4-5 weeks since my last pass through. The Cincy Beam location looks shut down? Looked operational last time through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Great article. I drove through Cincy today, its been 4-5 weeks since my last pass through. The Cincy Beam location looks shut down? Looked operational last time through.It was shut down last year. IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clingman71 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Earlier this summer there were still signs up and trucks on the lot. Nothing today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 It was supposed to shut down this year. That plant primarily made DeKuyper products, which involves mixing GNS with flavoring. All of that was transferred to Beam in Frankfort. They haven't said what's going to happen to the facility itself. I assume they'll sell it if they can. I don't know much about the neighborhood, but I suspect if it has any value it's just for the real estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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