More fun at Diageo...

[tanstaafl2]

Fred Minnick just reported that John Lunn is leaving Dickel and Diageo. Or is this a corporate shake up of the Diageo American whiskey house of some sort?

George Dickel Master Distiller Leaves Diageo

His next job, if any, is not being reported at this point it seems. As I recall he is a pretty young guy.

[squire]

The fact they're looking for a replacement indicates it wasn't a planned move.

[Harry in WashDC]

Yup, and I was surprised that the internal announcement preceded the departure of a very public, senior company official by a week. Whatever happened to, "You got thirty days . . ."? I sure will be watching for the rest of THIS story.

[Josh]

Makes me worry that they have evil plans for Dickel.

[393foureyedfox]

Makes me worry that they have evil plans for Dickel.

like what?

maybe they told John to make Honey Dickel, or Cinnamon Dickel, and he walked out in frustration. I rather like Dickel, and from what I hear from the guys whove been drinking forever, is that he's done a hell of a job keeping it consistent in profile. Im interested to see where he winds up and what he will be making.

[Josh]

It's not the known unknowns that worry me, it's the unknown unknowns.

[squire]

It's the imponderable imponderables that get me.

[Harry in WashDC]

Yeah, well, when did absence of facts or hard rumor stop us from getting indignantly outraged??? I. for one, admit that I haven't had any Dickel since early 2014 and likely will not buy any soon (like in 2015). But that doesn't mean I'm not going to fulminate.

[B.B. Babington]

... But that doesn't mean I'm not going to fulminate.

[ebo]

I hope #12 stays the same. I'll take Dickel over JD any day.

[TheNovaMan]

I just had a shot of Dickel 12 at a local bar last Friday night. I thought it was pretty good.

[Paddy]

Just don't screw up the MGP sourced rye!

[BigBoldBully]

Bought an assortment of Dickel in 2012 and have still not gotten around to trying any. Maybe it's nearly time to get moving on that...

[upStomp]

Just don't screw up the MGP sourced rye!

A thousand times this.

[393foureyedfox]

he apparently took the master distiller role at popcorn sutton. cant help but think that was a backwards move....but i wish him the best. after all, he was the guy at the helm when they put out my favorite whiskey, Dickel 9/103

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/03/16/us/ap-us-master-distiller-dickel.html?_r=0

[squire]

Perhaps he can teach 'em a thing or three.

[VAGentleman]

Wow! wonder if Popcorn Sutton distillery got a big injection of Money. I believe they opened a new distillery in Cocke County. Also wonder if they're gonna do a bourbon. It would seem a waste for John Lunn to only do Corn Liquor

[Josh]

I don't understand this at all.

[tanstaafl2]

I don't understand this at all.

Yes, it would seem to fail the sniff test. Something happened. What, I have no clue.

[GaryT]

If he was preparing to retire, I can see taking a boat-load of cash and doing something like this for a couple of years. But doesn't seem like he's anywhere near that point. Even if they're looking to get into bourbon and other products, Diageo hasn't been sitting on their hands. Definitely seems fishy.

Breaking down his comments . . .

“The chance to work in Tennessee was certainly appealing to me [Ah - isn't Dickel in TN??], but what excited me most is the incredible opportunity here. It’s not often you get to be associated with an American folk hero like Popcorn Sutton [did he miss the insert in Whisky Advocate? George Dickel is legendary, and may very well have invented whiskey as we know it]. The uniqueness of that, combined with the talented team and state-of-the-art production facility [so . . . Dickel's production was back-woods compared to . . . ] that’s been developed here, were simply too good to pass up.â€

Wonder if we'll ever hear the truth, because that just don't seem like it. Don't get me wrong - if he's happy with his change in employment, more power to him. And if he left on bad terms, it is classy on both sides to not air their dirty laundry. But we crave dirt more than my grandma's knitting circle

[Josh]

From a distillery named after a bootlegger to one named after a moonshiner! I guess there's some logic to that.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Josh

[flahute]

If he was preparing to retire, I can see taking a boat-load of cash and doing something like this for a couple of years. But doesn't seem like he's anywhere near that point. Even if they're looking to get into bourbon and other products, Diageo hasn't been sitting on their hands. Definitely seems fishy.

Breaking down his comments . . .

“The chance to work in Tennessee was certainly appealing to me [Ah - isn't Dickel in TN??], but what excited me most is the incredible opportunity here. It’s not often you get to be associated with an American folk hero like Popcorn Sutton [did he miss the insert in Whisky Advocate? George Dickel is legendary, and may very well have invented whiskey as we know it]. The uniqueness of that, combined with the talented team and state-of-the-art production facility [so . . . Dickel's production was back-woods compared to . . . ] that’s been developed here, were simply too good to pass up.â€

Wonder if we'll ever hear the truth, because that just don't seem like it. Don't get me wrong - if he's happy with his change in employment, more power to him. And if he left on bad terms, it is classy on both sides to not air their dirty laundry. But we crave dirt more than my grandma's knitting circle

Excellent points all around that sums up the thoughts of most of us. All I can think is that there must of been some personality conflicts at Dickel, or conflicts with corporate over direction, or some such thing and the Popcorn Sutton opportunity, though small time at the moment, gives him the chance to be "the man" and provide a direction that's all his. You gotta believe they will be developing a bourbon with him there. Maybe it's as simple as choosing between taking your orders from a corporate behemoth versus taking orders from yourself.

[393foureyedfox]

now that, i can see............................

[The Black Tot]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was scratching my head on this one.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

I'm not sure if popcorn sutton will ever regain the momentum they had after the first season of moonshiners. It flew off the shelves at $35 per bottle. Then they changed the bottle to look like JD and it died.

I understand getting outside of the moonshine bubble but they face an uphill battle.