Jim Myers

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

It started with a sideways glance. There stamped on a barrel of aging Tennessee whiskey was a date, and it fairly stopped Allisa Henley in her tracks.

As the newly appointed distiller at George Dickel, Henley was poking around the warehouses, taking stock the old-fashioned way. She had already worked at the distillery for more than 10 years, but now, with the keys to the still, she was taking a more personal inventory of the properties, looking for 9-year-old hooch for the single-barrel program.

That's how she stumbled upon an overlooked clutch of 80 barrels, forgotten by time, and, seemingly, management.

"I was figuring it in my head and I said, 'Wow, this is 17 years old,' which is odd because everything is usually 12 to 14 or less," Henley said from the distillery tasting room.

"I was already thinking this is getting too old. Why are we holding on to it? Immediately I came up and pulled some samples and it was amazing. It was really smooth, had some spice to it, and real rich oak, but not too much."

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At Dickel, one recipe rules the brand with a corn-heavy mash bill and bottlings at different proofs and ages. The company added a small batch product (Barrel Select) and followed that with single-barrel releases with 9- and 14-year-old (sold out) versions, but at 17 years, this is the longest age-statement Tennessee whiskey to hit the market.

Starting June 6, every Dickel fan can try this long-slumbered whiskey, but there's a catch. The limited edition 17-year-old "Distillery Reserve" will be sold only at the George Dickel visitor center and later at a very few select liquor stores in Tennessee.

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There's some symmetry to that, given Henley started her career at Dickel 12 years ago to revamp the then-flagging visitor experience. Along the way, she learned a lot about whiskey making, first by interviewing post-Prohibition master distiller Ralph Dupps, and then under the tutelage of the most recent master, John Lunn, who left last year to take the reins at Popcorn Sutton Distillery in East Tennessee.

In between Lunn and Dupps, though, was Jennings David Backus, who saw the distillery through its darkest hours, including its shutdown during the whiskey glut of the '90s and the closing of the visitors center in 1999.

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Lunn finally saw this Tennessee Whiskey, the brand that once had Merle Haggard as its coolest pitch-man, gain new ground as whiskey soared in popularity again. Fans, though, feared it would remain the ugly stepchild of corporate owner Diageo and in the shadow of nearby rival Jack Daniel. This new product, and seeming renewed interest from Diageo, certainly gives Dickel a chance to step into the premium spotlight.

The drive to Cascade Hollow, just a bung's throw from Tullahoma, is a pretty one, tracing the path of the spring-fed creek that remains the water source for the whiskey, offering a chance to see what distilling was like in Tennessee before Prohibition. Henley built the tour program and visitor experience from the ground up, and there's not a much better way to get folks to your door than offer a premium product only available on-site.

Reach Jim Myers at 615-259-8367 on Instagram @culinarity and on Twitter @ReadJimMyers.

George Dickel Distillery Reserve Collection: 17 Years

Mash bill: 84% corn, 8% rye, 8% malted barley

Bottle proof: 87

Number of cases: 800-900

Price: $75 for 375 ml. bottle

Tasting notes: Sweet birthday cake on nose, vanilla and white pepper spice, toasted oak, very smooth with low heat, light and short sugar cookie finish

George A. Dickel & Co. Cascade Hollow Distillery

Address: 1950 Cascade Hollow Road, Tullahoma

Website: www.georgedickel.com

Contact: 931-857-4110

Tours: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday (except major holidays). Last tour starts at 3:30 p.m.