Running a little late tonight. I was out trying to buy a new car. Buying a new car is weird right now. You might have heard that there is a shortage of new vehicles at the moment. And after tonight, I believe it. I’ve never seen a new car lot with no cars on it before. Basically, you walk in, take a test drive of a similar car to what you’d like to buy. And if it passes muster with you, you go look at the inventory that the dealer has already ordered, see what hasn’t yet been purchased, and then put a deposit on it.
If you’ve ever ordered a car to be built for you, it’s kind of like that in that you don’t actually see your vehicle in person when you put the deposit down and you get to wait a couple of months to get your car. But, it’s also kind of like picking one off the lot in that you don’t get to pick all the options you want and you are picking from “available” inventory. (Those are sarcastic quotes around available in case you were curious.) In other words, it is the absolute worst of both worlds. That said, we found one that we liked so we put down the deposit, and in late September or early October, we will be the proud owners of a new vehicle.
But all of that has nothing to do with tonight’s whiskey. I couldn’t possibly come up with a segue that could go from a weird car buying experience to a fantastic whiskey-drinking experience. Not one that would do justice to the whiskey we are looking at tonight anyway.
In late 2020, it was announced that a new single barrel would be coming out of Cascade Hollow. It was a 15-year-old George Dickel and it was available to retailers in select markets. Early in 2021, they expanded those markets to include Boulder, Colorado, where I bought this bottle at Hazel’s Beverage World.
George Dickel Single Barrel 15-year-old Tennessee Whisky is, as you may have guessed, a single barrel version of the standard George Dickel mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley that's been aged at least 15 years. My bottle was barreled in January of 2004 so, who knows, it might be over 15.
George Dickel Single Barrel 15-year-old, selected by Hazel's Beverage World
Purchase Info: $59.98 for a 750 mL bottle at Hazel’s Beverage World, Boulder, CO.
Price per Drink (50mL): $4.00
Details: Barrel #: 04A22-148. Barrel Date: January 22, 2004. 52.3% ABV.
Nose: Caramel, oak, cinnamon, gingersnap cookies
Mouth: Spicy with a nice, thick mouthfeel. Caramel, cinnamon, leather, and oak.
Finish: Long and warm. Notes of cinnamon, toffee, oak, and Flintstone's Vitamins.
Thoughts: Oh my goodness! I really, really like this. It is as close to a heart rating as one can get without getting one. The vitamin note knocks it out of the heart range for me. That said, this is in the conversation for the best whiskey I've bought this year. My only regret with this purchase is that I wish I had bought two.
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