George Dickel Rye Whiskey is a lesson in smooth southern charm.

George Dickel immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1844 where he started a small retail business. He added liquor to his his products in 1861, and the product line did very well. Within a few years he started buying regional Whiskeys wholesale and reselling to to bars and restaurants. In 1888, Dickel’s company bought out one of their suppliers — the Cascade Hollow Distillery. Things went well until the dark days of Prohibition forced them to close things down. When prohibition ended, the distillery was sold and the Bourbon renamed in honor of their founder — George A. Dickel’s Cascade Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Today, the brand and distillery are owned by the Diageo mega-corp.

George Dickel Rye Whiskey is the only Dickel branded product not made at the Cascade Distillery. Like many American premium Rye Whiskeys, George Dickel Rye hales from MGP in Indiana — Rye is a notoriously fickle grain and requires an expert touch. But once the distillate is made, it follows the classic Dickel formula of cool filtration through sugar-maple charcoal and ageing in dark, #4 char casks. If that sounds familiar, it’s because those are the same specs as Tennessee-style Whiskey, which makes George Dickel Rye smooth and mellow, even at 45% ABV.