![]() Country star Darryl Worley performs for a small group of invited guests at the 50th anniversary celebration for the current incarnation of the George Dickel Distillery. Worley is a celebrity spokesman for the whisky brand, which sponsored his most recent concert tour. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] |
"It represents a piece of American history," Master Distiller John Lunn told the assembled guests.
George Dickel began his original distillery in 1870, at a site three-quarters of a mile away from the current building. Dickel operated the distillery until his death in 1894; his wife's family continued it after that. Tennessee enacted a statewide prohibition on alcoholic beverages in 1909, a decade before the federal law. The Dickel operation was moved to Hopkinsville, Ky., and eventually closed by Prohibition when it became a federal law.
In 1958, the Schenley company, which by then owned the Dickel name and trademark, dispatched Ralph Dupps, a distiller at its Kentucky operations, to open a new George Dickel distillery in Tennessee. Dupps acquired 850 acres of land, researched Dickel's original recipes and techniques, and worked to get the state's permission to open a new distillery.
Ralph Dupps Jr., who spoke at Tuesday's ceremony, recalled his friends from Kentucky giving him dire warnings about what to expect in the hills and backwoods of Tennessee. But he said he and his family loved their new home. The senior Dupps was promoted in the Schenley organization and eventually worked out of Louisville and New York, but his heart was still home in Cascade Hollow and he eventually asked to be sent back to the distillery he had built, where he finished his career.
![]() Master distiller John Lunn, left, assists Ralph Dupps' widow Martha and his son Ralph Jr. in ceremonially planting a sugar maple tree on the grounds of the distillery in Dupps' memory. Dupps founded the modern incarnation of the distillery in 1958. Sugar maple charcoal is used by the distillery to filter its product. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo] |
Lunn is only the third master distiller in the modern facility's history, following Ralph Dupps and Jennings D. Backus.
Today, the Dickel brand is part of beverage giant Diageo.
The water used to produce the whisky comes from Wartrace-owned Cascade Spring. Earlier this year, when turbidity conditions and changing municipal water treatment regulations caused Wartrace to stop using the spring for its municipal water supply and to begin buying its water from Tullahoma Utilities Board, the town worked with the distillery to ensure that it would still be able to use the spring water.
"Wartrace realized what our Cascade water source means to us, and the quality of our whisky," Lunn told the Times-Gazette. (Dickel prefers the spelling "whisky," without an "e," while the Jack Daniel Distillery uses the spelling "whiskey" in its labeling and promotion.)
Both the George Dickel and Jack Daniel distilleries market themselves as tourist attractions, in many cases causing visitors to travel through Bedford County on their way to Cascade Hollow or Lynchburg. The Dickel distillery offers tours and has a gift shop and visitor center across the street from the main building.
Lunn called scenic Cascade Hollow the best part of his job.
"You start with the location," he said, "and it gets better from there."
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SURE IS GOOD.
Well shucks, that wasn't very neighborly. Why didn't Uncle George invite all of us to the 50th Anniversary?
Hi:
Enjoyed reading about the Geo Dickel 50 Year Celebration. This makes me fell old. I remember all of the bygone years. I am one of the only living employees that started working at the Distillery in 1959. I am sorry to here that my friend and former Boss, Ralph Dupps has passed away. Part of the original Management Team was Ralph Dupps, Bill Weird, Distiller, H. Lee, Maintenance Supervisor, Tom (me) Office Manager, Paul Prince Assistance to Bill and Jimmy Pen Assistant to Mr. Lee. I left there July 1969 to help Build and help Manage Charles Jacquin Et Cie Inc Distillery in Auburndale, Fl. This was a new type Distillery to extract Alcohol from citrus Pulp. My fondest memories have always been my time with my friends at Geo Dickel in Cascade Hollow.
Thinks for letting me write this Comment. If there are any still living Employees from the
1959 start up, I would Love to Hear from Them.
Thanks,
Tom Campbell
We, at the George Dickel Red Cup Society in North Carolina would like to congratulate the distillery for 50 years of producing the finest Sippin' Whisky in the world.
Keep up the good work, and we look forward to seein' y'all again next July.