Review #234: George Dickel 15 SiB, 18 year Seelbach’s Pick by Fred Minnick

MASH BILL: 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley

AGE: 18 yr

PROOF: 101.2

COST: $80 for 750mL bottle (I’m reviewing a sample)

This is the continuation from my last two reviews where I’m exploring a few pours that have a more prominent “mineral” note in an attempt to train my palate to be able to pick up on those notes more easily. Back to a Bonafide Dickel product, this time we’re checking out an 18 year single barrel pick. This was a barrel pick that Fred Minnick helped Seelbach’s with back in 2022. I’m expecting this to be a lot like Review #232 where it’s rather sweet with mild tannins. It is proofed down a little more than the bottle from that review though, so I would expect the sweetness to be knocked off a tad bit and the earthy notes to be boosted a little. Well, that’s enough talking about what I think I’m going to expect, let’s get to it!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: A lovely brownish, red clay color (1.7), syrupy looking with fat, teardrop legs.

NOSE: My first take is this is a lot like Review #232 on the nose in the sense that SWEETNESS ABOUNDS! But it’s a different sweetness. This one is less rich and brighter. At first, a blend of candied orange slices, vanilla extract, and Maraschino cherry syrup. They are supported by an earthy backdrop of damp oak, dried sage, and a slight metallic, astringent note. It’s a generally bright nose with a slight astringent bite.

PALATE: An excellent soft, velvety mouthfeel with a slight proof bite on the tip of my tongue. The sweetness from the nose pops right at the beginning on the palate. The caramelized vanillins from the oak standout and bring a slight tannic quality with them. Torched orange peel and caramelized maple syrup quickly follow. With a good chew to aerate things, vanilla, bitter dark chocolate, and under ripe cherry notes appear. As the sweeter notes fade, a touch of cinnamon heat enters along with a flat minerally note (I definitely see the Flintstones vitamin thing here, but it’s brief) going into the finish. Similar to Review #232, there is a perfumy note that I get right at the swallow. Lastly, if I hold this on my palate for an extended period of time, that sweet Maraschino cherry note from the nose shows up briefly as well.

FINISH: Long and dry. Notes of tannic oak, charcoal, toasted nuts, and charred cinnamon sticks dominate the finish (the Lincoln County Process showing up in force here I feel like). There are subtle sweet notes of orange slice candies and caramel. A wave of vanilla hits in the middle of the finish that helps add some character to the otherwise “burnt” character of the earthier notes that dominate.

RATING: 6.8/10

OVERALL: The mineral notes were far less apparent in this sip versus the last two reviews I did. That said, there were still nods of it throughout the sip (metallic on the nose, a gritty minerally note on the palate, and charcoal on the finish). Compared to the Dickel 15 review of Review #232, this was much brighter. It had sweetness, but less rich than the other review. I think that bright/lightness of this pour made some harsher notes more apparent on the palate than #223 with its rich, robust profile helping mask them. In similar fashion though, it was very clearly a well-aged whiskey featuring mature barrel character without being overly tannic or oaky for aging for 18 years. And $80 for 18 years of aging…just let that settle in for a minute… The Dickel 15 picks are certainly some of the best value around. I remember that being one of my favorite things about Dickel when I was in college, and that was well before Dickel 15 became a label. I’m glad they haven’t let the crazy market of today change their course of value proposition.

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings