sipping whiskey vs....?

[fogfrog]

I saw some posts on 'sipping whiskey'. I guess they say that Jack Daniels is Sipping Whiskey. Well... I am wondering which whiskeys are NOT sipping whiskeys. I am not sure if I am a sipper. Some whiskey's have a lot of bite and you either 'sip' them or you can (but I never do) just down a shot and get it over with! Fine whiskeys like Weller's, Bulleit, 4 Roses etc... I seem to not notice a bite at all! I tend to nearly drink these whiskeys. I found that a lower shelf whiskey such as TW Samuels, I tend to 'aspirate' or 'sip' because to drink it is a little on the rough side. Its like HOT TEA.... you gotta cool it off or something..... Now a richer whiskey say like Basil Haydn's I might sip more because it has so much taste, it doesn't take much to get a lot of flavor! I think the more expensive whiskey's like small batch 4 Roses etc... fall into this category....

So when a person talks about 'sippin whiskey'.... what is that?

[dcb]

So when a person talks about 'sippin whiskey'.... what is that?

My mother used to use that term for scotch, but I think I've mostly heard it used by people who think whiskey is made to be either shot or mixed. Personally, when it comes to JD #7, I can pretty much only get it down by shooting it. I keep some cheap bourbon around like EW black or cheap rye for shooting when my bandmates come over to practice, they'll do shots and I'll just have a glass by my drumset for "sippin" :cool: .

[Slob]

Philadelphia brand American whiskey is not a sipping whiskey, it's a vomiting whiskey.

[ILLfarmboy]

Philadelphia brand American whiskey is not a sipping whiskey, it's a vomiting whiskey.

I've never had Philadelphia brand American Whiskey but that made me laugh. I have had a few other "vomiting whiskeys" before.:cool:

[Slob]

I've never had Philadelphia brand American Whiskey but that made me laugh. I have had a few other "vomiting whiskeys" before.:cool:

You haven't had real vomiting whiskey until you've had Philadelphia. Load up on Chinese food ahead of time for the full effect. Lo mein works well, just don't chew it too much.

[smokinjoe]

I've never had Philadelphia brand American Whiskey but that made me laugh. I have had a few other "vomiting whiskeys" before.:cool:

That got a good chuckle from me, too.

JOE

[Thesh]

I generally define a sipping whiskey as a whiskey that I want to have one small glass, single to double, to relax with and enjoy over the course of an hour or two. The vast majority of whiskies I have had could fall into this category. Others fall in the category of "need ice to get it down." Never ran into any whiskey to put into the category of "gag and dump" but I'm still young.

Although sometimes I use the term "sipping whiskey" to signify to other people that the whiskey would be wasted with shots (99% of the people I have met didn't know that whiskey could be served in anything other than shot glasses).

[Slob]

(99% of the people I have met didn't know that whiskey could be served in anything other than shot glasses).

I bet they're all vodka drinkers.

[spun_cookie]

For me, it is anything over ~105 proof. I slowly work them sip by sip vs ~101 and below that I can drink at a pace slightly faster than sipping...

I never mix my bourbons wiht coke, ginger ale, etc... so that may add in another dimention for other folks.

[cowdery]

The term "sippin' whiskey" has been used in George Dickel advertising but apparently not to good effect, at least with Fog, who attributed it to Daniel's.

When used colloquially, it simply means good whiskey, one you can enjoy neat, and one that rewards careful consideration. There isn't really a direct antonym, although vomiting whiskey is a good suggestion. Again traditionally, if one wasn't sipping whiskey neat one was mixing it and likely drinking in a social situation, so in the modern context the alternative to sipping whiskey probably is vodka.

Since everything Dickel does is with an eye on Jack, dubbing George Dickel "Finest Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey" may have been a shot at Jack, most of which is consumed mixed with Coke, especially in Dickel's heartland, the American South.

They're not really using the phrase now, but one thing they have started to do is follow the name with "George and Augusta Dickel, proprietors."

[bluesbassdad]

Since everything Dickel does is with an eye on Jack,... [snip]

... but one thing they have started to do is follow the name with "George and Augusta Dickel, proprietors."

OK, so what's the population of Tullahoma? I guess if it's more than three digits, we won't be seeing it on the GD label, eh?

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Stu]

I concur that a sippin' whisky is one that I can drink neat or at least lightly dusted (1 part water to 4 parts whisky). Any whisky that I don't enjoy that way is reserved for my friends who pour it in a cola or shoot it and chase it with beer. Unfortunately I've bought a lot of those (but only once). Price often plays a factor, but not always. Two very inexpensive bourbons that I enjoy sipping are Very Old Barton and Henry McKenna (around $17 for a 1.75 jug in Little Rock). Personal taste plays a large part as well, I've had bourbons that are highly praised on this site that just don't light my fire, and there are probably those who would disagree with my assessment of VOB and HM.

Stu

[cowdery]

OK, so what's the population of Tullahoma? I guess if it's more than three digits, we won't be seeing it on the GD label, eh?

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

Tullahoma is the big city in those parts, with a population of about 20,000, but Dickel is outside of town in a very attractive, rural setting. But, no, I don't think they'll put the population of Tuallahoma on the label.

Part of the problem Dickel is having with its revisionist history is that George and Augusta Dickel had no direct association with Tullahoma. The Dickel business was in Nashville. The Cascade Distillery in Tullahoma didn't become associated with the Dickel company until 1888, when Dickel's partner and brother-in-law, Victor Shwab, bought controlling interest in it. Victor was married to Augusta's sister, Emma. George died in 1894 but Augusta hung on to her interest.

Even after they bought the distillery they continued to run the business out of Nashville until Tennessee Prohibition ran them out in 1910. They operated for the next decade in Louisville with Stitzel making the whiskey for them.

George and Augusta had no kids and when she died in 1916 she left everything to the Shwabs.

[OscarV]

Even after they bought the distillery they continued to run the business out of Nashville until Tennessee Prohibition ran them out in 1910. They operated for the next decade in Louisville with Stitzel making the whiskey for them.

.

I have heard this before and have heard that Dickel was made in Franfort at what is now Buffalo Trace.

On the tour I took at BT they had a small building they called the Dickel House or Room or Building, and they have plans for it in the future.

Are both true, Dickel made in both Louisville and Frankfort?

[cowdery]

Both are true. After Prohibition, Stitzel continued to sell Cascade and claimed it as one of its brands. George A. Shwab, Victor's son and George Dickel's nephew and namesake, tried to re-establish the company and regain control of the brand. He was unsuccessful and in 1937, sold all rights to the Dickel and Cascade names to Schenley, which had the muscle to get Stitzel-Weller to give up the brand. Schenley then began to manufacture what it called Cascade bourbon at what is now Buffalo Trace. Later it was also made at Schenley's Bernheim plant. In 1958, after Schenley failed in its attempt to buy Jack Daniel's, it sent the chief engineer at Bernheim, Ralph Dupps, to build a new distillery in Tullahoma. Initially they were going to call that whiskey Cascade but due to the success of Daniel's, they decided a man's name would sell better, so it became George Dickel Sour Mash Tennessee Whiskey. In effect, that brand is only 40 years old, although its roots are 140 years old.

[Slob]

I think the image of all whiskeys is that of "sipping whiskey". I don't think there are too many distilleries who want their product marketed as a "gulping whiskey", if only to keep homeless advocacy groups off their backs.