George Dickel TABASCO Brand Barrel Finish

This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 10: On the 10th day of Christmas my drinking problem gave to me: I am completely equal parts excited and apprehensive about this drink. I love whiskey. I love tobasco. That’s how it works, right? The nose: Okay. This smells awesome. Grown ass man, I literally just giggled. You can kind of get some sugar poking through, but let’s be honest about why we’re here. Straight tobasco. I dig it. The body: fascinating. The original bourbon comes through here. Maple syrup. Powdered sugar. Deep, sweet orange flavor. Amazing. The finish: this is really where the tobasco flavor kicks in. The orange fades out with the finish, and you’re suddenly made aware of that tobasco influence. It was in the background on the body, but it buzzes your lips here. Fades out super slowly, lingering on every exhale. Okay. Holy cow. This drink is amazing. Disclaimer: I literally eat tobasco sauce on every dinner. I currently have 2 bottles in the fridge and 2 more in the pantry. I have an additional 4 bottles in the fridge of miscellaneous varieties. You could say I’m an enthusiast. I’m also likely desensitized to this stuff in lower quantities. This barrel finished doesn’t even make me blink. I haven’t had Dickel in a very long time, but I don’t remember finding all these flavors before. I think the tobasco really does draw some stuff out, or just fritz your taste buds out and make you get some new stuff. I know this drink can’t possibly be for everyone, but if you happen to be a spice fanatic and a bourbon drinker, this one is a no brainer. Amazing. ‘Tis the season. I don’t know if I actually have 21 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments. EDIT: I poured 3 fingers. Everything above was experienced on finger 1. I would rate that finger a 4-star. Finger 2 was a struggle. I was enjoying it less. I would rate it 2.5. I did my best to power through on finger 3. My stomach began to hurt. Maybe 1.5 stars? I don’t know how to rate something like that. Definitely drink this only in small quantities, even if you’ve already accepted tobasco as your personal lord and savior.

I split this five way with friends as a form of punishment, and I do indeed consider myself punished. I hate myself. I knew I would hate myself. This outlet to vent my disgust with my own existence is all I have. Why God!? It smells like straight Tabasco and despair. Yet somehow it was enticing enough for me to put this in my mouth. It did not disappoint. By that I mean the palate lived up to the nose in the sense that it also made me question why I do the things I do. It tasted like violence and fire with a touch of sweetness. I have put a lot of things in my mouth in my day, but few have left the impression that this shot straight from the anus of Satan himself has left. I am sad that there is still fluid in my glass. I fear neither my tongue nor my glencairn will ever be the same. But I must persevere. While I have lost nearly all respect for myself, I at least shall have the dignity to finish this pour so that I can look my six-month-old daughter in the eye in the morning. When she is bullied, or fails a test, or has a bad game, I will speak of this day. I will let her know that if I can survive this, she can survive that.

I’m really not that smart of a guy. I wish I was smarter. I wish I took those MCATs. I wish I thought of the next big dot com craze. But...I gotta say, I’m at least two standard deviations smarter than the guy or gal that thought of this odd couple finishing. I tried a shot of this yesterday at a local place, where it was offered next to some celery and salt. When I’m having whiskey, not sure I have the emotional bandwidth to have celery at the same time. Celery is great and whiskey is great, but together....not so sure. LIke texting while having sex. Both are great, just not recommended together. Anyway, same goes for Tabasco and whiskey. I like Tabasco on my scrambled eggs. I like Tabasco on my baked potato. I even like a bit on my pasta. But, not sure it belongs in my whiskey. Nice experiment, just not willing to pay for it. The kicker was that while I’m having this, I’m holding a $90 bottle of the new Lahroaig Cairdeas, and the guy is trying to convince me to buy this instead of the Cairdeas, despite the $55 price difference.

Ok you bought yourself a bottle of Dickel Tobasco finish, what next? Well here's a thought. Chicken Wing Sauce. Maybe some pork rib rub? Truthfully the nose on this is a bit intriguing although I would say the funk of the tobasco pretty much turns it off for me, I could see some folks going for this though. The taste is another story, the sweet Dickel flavor base with the bold hot spice isn't a winner for me. This reminds me a bit of the Wild Turkey American Honey with Ghost Pepper. Not a fan of that either. Or the even worse Bird Dog Jalapeno Honey that might just be the worst thing I've ever tasted out of a "whiskey bottle". So spice up those chicken wings on the grill or maybe help out your constipated dog by forcing this down it's throat, either way I can't be accused of being a "Dickel Homer" now. Unless you just love the unexplainable weird flavors, serious NO GO on the red label Dickel.

I split this with friends. $4 a piece. And I’m pissed about it. I could have spent that $4 on a Chick-Fil-a sandwich. Or a nice tube of toothpaste to wash this flavor out of my mouth. The nose is reminiscent of Hot Tamales, but then the peppers make their appearance. And everything goes to hell. The whiskey brings sweetness and the Tabasco brings spiciness, and that’s a big mistake. I can’t say that I’d rather jam a toothbrush up my urethra bristle-end-first, but it’s a close call. Like, I keep asking myself how 2020 could get worse than it’s been. And then this. Whoever lost a bet and had to produce this atrocity belongs in a padded cell, at least 180 miles from anyone who may get any funny ideas about perpetuating such a blight. The technical term for what this spirit did to me is “borked in the ding ding.”

Hear me out on this one. I bought this as a joke just to see what one of the lowest rated whiskies was like. It’s one of these things I walk by every time I go to the store and I think, “I should try this just because it’s so bizarre.” The nose is bonkers. I get buttercream, caramel, a little oak, and the Tabasco finish. The finish itself isn’t a pungent as you’d expect, and on the palate the whiskey tastes mostly like regular Dickel, which is a pleasant taste. The Tabasco shows up on the finish, tickling the back of your throat just a bit. Not all together horrible. For $15 I don’t feel bad about this purchase. It could be a versatile spirit too. I can see myself cooking with this, or maybe making a new, weird Bloody Mary. Try this one for yourself, and if you hate it, you can regift it. Cheers!