Dickel/Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend Rye Whiskey

Aromas of orange marmalade, banana foster, with a slight mint. The palate has wood spice, slight coffee and toasted nuts, finishing with honey notes and black licorice and baking spices. D&M Tasting Notes

George Dickel has teamed up with the Leopold Bros to produce an innovative rye whisky offering.The release blends George Dickel’s column still rye produced at Cascade Hallow Distillery with Leopold Bros’ Three Chamber Rye to recreate a historic style. This union between column distilled rye and Three Chamber distilled rye turns back the hands of time, returning to an era that saw heavy-bodied rye whisky served at bars and saloons throughout America. The Cascade Hollow component of this blend is a never-before released traditional column still rye. Distillery Notes

50% ABV

 The Story of the Leopold Bros. Three Chamber Still.

For over a hundred years, American rye whiskey was commonly produced in what was called a Three Chamber Still to extract not only distillate, but also oils and aromas hidden in the grains. The resulting spirit was marketed as “heavy-bodied” whiskey, but production stopped just after World War II and the still in which it was made became a lost American tradition.

​Leopold Bros. painstakingly re-engineered a Three Chamber Still from old manuscripts and grew the heritage grain Abruzzi rye that was favored by Pre-Prohibition distillers to resurrect this one-of-a-kind whiskey.

Mashbill: Undisclosed blend of George Dickel and Leopold Bros. Rye (Dickel Mashbill: Undisclosed; Leopold Mashbill: 80% Abruzzi Rye, 20% Leopold Floor Malt)

Todd Leopold, the master distiller of Leopold Bros. had an idea for a new rye product that required column distilled rye. He called George Dickel’s master distiller Nicole Austin to see if she knew where he could get his hands on some, and it just so happens they were quietly developing one. The collaboration between the two companies was born. According to Austin on George Dickel’s website, “The thing that makes this collaboration special is there is a reason and a context for it to exist that goes way beyond our friendship. There is a historical context for this whiskey. It’s really a resurrection of a lost style. Collaborations in spirits are quite rare, particularly in the whiskey space.” The label states that this is the “Inaugural Release” signaling additional releases are possible.

George Dickel, on the other hand, has traditionally sourced their rye from MGP and added their own fingerprint by filtering it through charcoal made of sugar maple wood and aging it in their Tennessee rickhouses. While their rye has gotten the job done for them, rarely does it receive much attention from rye lovers. But that is likely about to change. Dickel’s master distiller Nicole Austin has spearheaded a radical change of course regarding the company’s rye product. Now produced in-house, Dickel is unveiling their new Column Still Rye in this collaboration.