George Dickel Whisky

George A. Dickel moved from Germany to the US in 1844. He was an established Nashville merchant when he entered the whisky business, and by the 1860s had gained a reputation for selling rather smooth spirits. So, Geo. A. Dickel & Co. was founded. Dickel decided to spell whisky without an ‘e’, as he believed it was of the same quality as the best Scotch whiskies. After the death of both George Dickel and his wife in 1916, the company shares were passed onto his brother-in-law, Victor Shwab. Prohibition was enforced in Tennessee in 1910, and the distillery closed. In 1958, 25 years after the Repeal of Prohibition, a new distillery was opened and began producing Geo. A. Dickel Tennessee Whisky once more. George Dickel Tennessee Whisky was first bottled in 1964, with George Dickel’s name first used as a trademark. In the 1990s, increased production of George Dickel caused supply to exceed demand, and so the distillery closed to allow the value of the whisky to increase again. The distillery reopened in 2003. Initially, Dickel produced more whisky in the winter months than in the summer as he believed that this gave it a smoother profile. Nowadays, this is why the whisky is chilled before it is charcoal filtered.