George Dickel and Cascade Hollow Distillery: Tennessee Whisky History

George Dickel is a Tennessee whisky made in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, Tennessee, at the Cascade Hollow Distillery. It is owned today by Diageo. The modern brand was introduced in 1964, but the story behind it stretches back to a Nashville merchant in the nineteenth century.

At a glance

• Location: Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., 1950 Cascade Hollow Road, Tullahoma, Tennessee

• Owner: Diageo

• Brand first bottled: 1964, with the first mash at the rebuilt distillery on 4 July 1959

• Spelling: labels say whisky, not whiskey

• Scale: the second largest distillery in Tennessee, selling 130,000 cases in 2013 (Wikipedia), behind Jack Daniel's at 11.5 million cases

• Trail: part of the American Whiskey Trail and the Tennessee Whiskey Trail

The story

George Dickel the merchant

George A. Dickel was born in Germany in 1818 and emigrated to the United States in 1844. He built a retail business in Nashville in the 1850s and began selling liquor in 1861. In the late 1860s he founded George A. Dickel and Company, a wholesaler that bought whiskey from regional distillers. Victor Emmanuel Shwab, his brother in law, became a partner in 1881.

Cascade Hollow

The company sold whiskey made in Cascade Hollow, near Normandy, Tennessee. McLin Davis joined the partnership in 1883, became the distiller and is credited with the recipe. The Cascade label carried the phrase "Mellow as Moonlight", rooted in his method of cooling mash at night. Dickel died in 1894 and Shwab took over, later buying out Davis's heirs.

Prohibition and rebirth

Tennessee enacted prohibition in 1910, so production moved to the Stitzel Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, until Kentucky followed in 1917. Production stopped altogether with national Prohibition in 1920. After repeal, Shwab's heirs sold the Cascade brand to Schenley Distilling Company in 1937. The recipe had never been written down and had to be recovered from two former distillers.

In 1958 Schenley's Ralph Dupps reconstructed the Cascade Hollow distillery about a mile from the old site. It still uses the waters of Cascade Branch. George Dickel Tennessee Whisky was first bottled in 1964. Various mergers and buyouts later led to Diageo owning the brand.

Closure and reopening

Increased production in the 1990s pushed supply above demand, so the distillery closed for a time. It reopened in 2003. The original distillery site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

How it is made

• Mash bill: 84% corn, 8% rye and 8% malted barley (Wikipedia)

• Mellowing: distillate is chilled to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) and filtered through sugar maple charcoal in vats 10 to 12 feet deep for several days, their take on the Lincoln County process

• Barrel entry: about 55 percent ABV

• Warehouses: one story high, to reduce variation in ageing

• Ageing: at least five years before being considered for bottling, per Wikipedia

The people

John Lunn was master distiller from 2005 to 2015. Nicole Austin became general manager and distiller of Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. in March 2018. Check the official site for the current team before publishing.

The range

The official Diageo brand page currently lists these expressions:

• Signature Recipe Tennessee Whisky

• 17 Year Old Reserve

• Rye Whisky, shown at 45% ABV

• Barrel Select

• 15 Year Old Single Barrel, shown at 52.8% ABV

• Bourbon Aged 8 Years

• Bottled in Bond Tennessee Whisky

• 9 Year Old Single Barrel

Wikipedia adds that George Dickel Rye, introduced in 2012, is made under contract by MGP Ingredients in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and is the only Dickel product not made at Cascade Hollow. It is then filtered and bottled in Plainfield, Illinois. That detail is from Wikipedia and has not been checked against the current official site.

Awards

At the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, George Dickel No. 12 was named Best Tennessee Whiskey and won double gold. The Rye won double gold and Barrel Select won gold (Wikipedia).

Visiting Cascade Hollow

The official visit page says the distillery is operational Monday to Friday. Tours run on Saturdays and Sundays, but you will likely not see active distillation. Tours last about an hour, involve walking and stairs, and about 25% takes place outside. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Guests must be 21 or over with ID to sample.

• Address: 1950 Cascade Hollow Road, Tullahoma, TN 37388

• Phone: 931 408 2410

• Hours seen on 20 October 2026: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9:30am to 4pm, Sunday 11:30am to 4pm, closed Wednesday

• Check hours and tour prices before you go, they change

FAQ

Who owns George Dickel?

Diageo.

Where is George Dickel made?

At Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Why is it spelled whisky?

According to the company, Dickel believed his product to be as smooth and high in quality as the best Scotch whiskies.

What is charcoal mellowing?

The whisky is chilled and filtered through sugar maple charcoal before going into barrels. It is Dickel's version of the Lincoln County process.

Can I tour the distillery?

Yes. Tours run on weekends and by reservation, per the official visit page.

Sources and gaps

Sources read on 20 October 2026: Wikipedia article on George Dickel; the Diageo owned George Dickel brand page and distillery visit page on thebar.com. Not reached: georgedickel.com home (it redirects to Diageo's The Bar site). Gaps: ABVs for most of the range, current production figures, current master distiller or team, tour prices, and whether the one hour tour times have changed. Wikipedia sales figures are from 2013. Whisky Clan does not publish tasting notes in its distillery profiles.