Todd Leopold, the master distiller of Leopold Bros. had an idea for a new rye product that required column distilled rye. He called George Dickel’s master distiller Nicole Austin to see if she knew where he could get his hands on some, and it just so happens they were quietly developing one. The collaboration between the two companies was born. According to Austin on George Dickel’s website, “The thing that makes this collaboration special is there is a reason and a context for it to exist that goes way beyond our friendship. There is a historical context for this whiskey. It’s really a resurrection of a lost style. Collaborations in spirits are quite rare, particularly in the whiskey space.” The label states that this is the “Inaugural Release” signaling additional releases are possible.
The blending of Leopold’s Three Chamber Rye and Dickel’s Column Still Rye is an ingenious one as the whiskeys are so agreeable with each other. Three Chamber Rye on its own can be polarizing for some as it pushes rye in a completely new (and herbal-focused) direction. Dickel’s Column Still Rye appears to pull it back some, rounding it out in places, and combining to form an electrifying finish. With branded collaboration such a rare occurrence in whiskey, it’s impressive how right the results ended up being here. There is just so little in the American rye whiskey market that comes close to tasting like this.
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