(T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Order this photo]

Nearly 140 years later, the tradition is still very important to the brand name, and should be able to continue, even though the rest of the region may be getting its water from a different source.

Wartrace Mayor Don Gallagher has already met with officials at the George Dickel Distillery about their water supply and while talks are still "a work in progress," the mayor says he's confident that "things will work out fine" as it applies to Wartrace.

The supply of fresh spring water to the distillery from Cascade is one of the sticking points preventing Wartrace from finalizing a deal with the Tullahoma Utilities Board to supply water to the northeastern part of Bedford County.

Wartrace, which also provides water to Normandy, Beech Grove and Bell Buckle, issued a boil water advisory last month after heavy rains caused surface water to enter Cascade Spring, which impacted the quality of the supply for Wartrace customers.

Wartrace collects approximately $140,000 in revenue annually from the distiller, which makes George Dickel the town's biggest water customer. According to George Dickel spokesman Gary Galanis, the water source is important to the distillery's whisky-making process.

"It's the same water source as the original distillery that George Dickel opened in the 1870s, and it's a key ingredient in all of our handcrafted whisky brands," Galanis said. "We are currently working in tandem with local and state officials to ensure that our water resource is preserved.

"Everyone realizes the importance of the limestone filtered spring water to our process, and all parties have been extremely helpful through this endeavor."

The decision to switch to Tullahoma for their water supply will be before the town board again when they meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) stated that a rise in the average turbidity level at the spring would require Wartrace to build a $3 million filtration plant if it wanted to continue using water from Cascade Spring.

A filtration system is already in place at the distillery, Gallagher said, so Dickel has been able and will still be able to use the spring water, regardless of what Wartrace may end up doing concerning its water supply.

The area has been getting water from Cascade Spring since the water system was built in the mid 1930s and Gallagher says that Dickel should be able to continue to use it.

"We're sensitive to (the distillery's needs) and we're committed to giving them spring water ... they have the resources (to filter the water) regardless of what we do with Tullahoma," Gallagher said. "We can satisfy them and they can keep getting their water from the spring."

Gallagher said there are three things he is looking at in relation to the deal to buy Tullahoma water: Quality, financial concerns for the town and water pressure.

"We have pressure problems on Bugscuffle Road, and on Highway 64 towards Shelbyville," Gallagher explained. The pressure problem has been mainly caused by more customers on Bell Buckle's system, he said.

Wartrace had hoped to approve a deal to buy water from Tullahoma last Monday, but the details concerning Dickel had to be addressed first.

TUB has offered Wartrace two options: Use Tullahoma as its sole water source or as a backup source. The draft agreement examined last week would supply water on a full time basis by constructing a water line from Cascade Springs to a TUB water line that is located approximately 4,500 feet away.

Gallagher said that everything in the contract was to Tullahoma's satisfaction, but the sticking point was item number six, which stated that Wartrace's agreement with TUB does not preclude the city from selling water from Cascade Springs to George Dickel Distillery.

The only thing Wartrace has to do is to get the state's approval to furnish the water to the distillery due to the fact that it would not be treated water that was being used for "manufacturing concerns," Gallagher has said.