The ‘Best New Whiskey of 2019’ is a $36 Bottle You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Whiskey Advocate says this bargain bottle is the best whiskey of the year, and Maxim.com tapped it as a top bottle back in May.

Whisky Advocate has served up a shockingly affordable selection for its best bottle of the year: George Dickel Bottled in Bond, which clocks in at just $36. 

While some whiskey aficionados may be surprised that Dickel was crowned the best new whiskey of the year, it led Maxim.com’s list of our top ten bottled-in-bond spirits back in May. The 13-year-old Tennessee whiskey is a standout partly because its $36 price is remarkably low for a charcoal-filtered whiskey that’s spent so long aging in barrels. Whisky Advocate agrees, noting that “Tennessee whiskey lives in the shadow of bourbon, which can easily command three or four times the price at this age.”

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In fact, Nicole Austin, who took over in 2018 as general manager and distiller at the George Dickel’s recently renamed Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., told Maxim.com that the point of the release is to create an affordable luxury with an authenticity marker to gain consumer trust. The concept is as relevant today as it was when whiskey production became officially regulated by the passing of the Bottled-in-Bond Act way back in 1897. 

Bottled at 100 proof in accordance with the law, George Dickel’s profile is full of spice, caramel, apple and menthol flavors, with a bit of heat and a touch of oak. Whisky Advocate adds that peanut aromas are delivered on the initial nose, and a “fine bitter-sweet balance suggests burnt sugar, Mexican chocolate, chocolate-covered almonds, and toffee.”

Exactly 2,500 cases are rolling out in New York, California, and the southeast. Head to George Dickel’s website to find a bottle near you.