Theoretically, George Dickel Rye is the perfect product to throw people off. Many consumers associate the Tullahoma distillery with its Tennessee whisky (bourbon), which has a reputation for tasting a certain way. It’s to the point that whenever people see a bottle of sourced whiskey that says, “Distilled in Tennessee,” they automatically think it’s Dickel and often promptly ignore it. To be clear, not all sourced whiskey distilled in Tennessee comes from Dickel, but outside of Heaven’s Door, it’s difficult to find an NDP (non-distilling producer) that doesn’t. After all, the Cascade Hollow distillery has been producing whisky since the late 19^th century, so they have plenty of aged stock to go around.

This is what makes George Dickel Rye such an unusual product. Although the whisky undergoes the same charcoal filtration process as the brand’s other bottlings, it’s actually not George Dickel distillate. The plot thickens when we consider that the brand has distilled and aged its own rye whisky, which some groups and stores have enjoyed through Backbone Bone Snapper picks. Yet Dickel’s base rye product is sourced 95/5 rye from Ross & Squibb. Another curiosity I noticed with George Dickel Rye is that it doesn’t carry the “straight” designation either on the bottle or on the brand’s website. This opens the discussion to possibilities of a lower age range and even additives.

So yeah, odd stuff.

Although we can certainly theorize why the team at Cascade Hollow doesn’t use their own distillate for their only in-house rye whisky bottling, I’m presently more interested in the product available to us. More specifically, I want to find out if utilizing maple charcoal filtration leaves a noticeable impact on this $20 bottle of sourced rye whisky.

Nose: Citrusy mint with a surprising presence of dried, pungent fruit, like prunes meet clove with hints of licorice candy. Black currant and markers with a bit of lavender and rosemary.

Palate: Just a touch of viscosity. Slightly lighter concentration of currant and faint orange with a decent hit of wintergreen. Light notes of cedar, lilac, pine needles, and a bit of red wine essence. Faintest presence of cinnamon spice.

Finish: Slightly drying and refreshing. Cilantro, white pepper, and faint lemon. Has a clean linen meets lilac personality at the end.

I’m continually split on this one. Many whiskies are easy to appreciate while falling short when it comes to personal enjoyment. George Dickel Rye is one of those, but for different reasons compared to other bottles. I often say I appreciate a pour when it utilizes finishing casks, uses an interesting production method, or includes a specific type of grain. Other than the Lincoln County Process, (which isn’t that interesting in this day and age), none of these apply to George Dickel Rye. So what’s there to appreciate? The shelf position.

Rye is frequently called out for being a more expensive and trickier grain to manage than corn. Additionally, producers that source from Ross & Squibb often put the products out at prices high enough to make people feel like they’re dealing with something analogous to the secondary market. George Dickel Rye somewhat bucks the trend by being around $20, putting it in the same pricing bracket as rye whiskeys from Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, and Bulleit (also sourced from Ross & Squibb). It’s not a particularly impressive product in and of itself, but I’d be remiss to call it a misstep.

George Dickel Rye is a decent introduction to high-rye rye whisky, one that’s both available and affordable. More specifically, I think it works as a budget-friendly option for newcomers who want an idea of what rye tastes like when you omit the ever-present corn grain. However, one curiosity I found while tasting my bottle was how light on spice it was. Many ryes come across in a light, dry, and often spicy way, and while George Dickel Rye exhibits these characteristics to varying degrees, it drinks far more casually. I think this reinforces its position as a relatively cheap introductory bottle. Again, nothing impressive, but it ultimately gets the job done.