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Named for old timey distiller Joseph Washington Dant and first introduced in 1836, this bottle has been produced by Heaven Hill since 1993. Allegedly, Dant didn't have the money for a copper still and instead used one made out of a wooden log instead. While both possible and fairly common at the time, this would have been highly inefficient owing to wood's porosity and poor thermal conductivity. I would hazard that only the main "barrel" of the still would have been wood with the boiler and condenser still being metal. Dant made whiskey using grains grown by himself and barrels made in his own cooperage. In 1872, Taylor and Williams began distributing Dant Distillery whiskey under the Yellowstone label, a brand which eventually passed to Heaven Hill and then was sold to Luxco. Interestingly, some Dant decedents tried to revive the Dant story by establishing Log Still distillery though their marketing pushes provoked a successful lawsuit from Heaven Hill which held that the new brand risked consumer confusion. Log Still continues to operate under revised branding. The bottle design is their "throwback" pattern, featuring a solid glass body and plastic screwcap top, which is shared by a few other brands including Mellow Corn and JTS Brown.
🛒Sourced: $19.99 from the Heaven Hill gift shop, also available in 1.75L for around $30 - Though it is rumored as a Kentucky exclusive, you can find it in select states at larger retailers. This is up about $5 over the past three years and you may still find it for the $15 where it sat for almost 20-years.
🧪Proof: 100 proof, 50% ABV - per bottled-in-bond regulations
🎨Color: Y3 - a ripe egg yolk, yellow orange. Glass bottle with a plastic twist top, no fun stopper.
🥔Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley - The same mash bill as most other Heaven Hill products like Evan Williams, Henry McKenna, Elijah Craig, and JTS Brown (often known as HH Reg). Barrels have a 3# char and are not mapped to a specific brand at first, being selected based on flavor profile at various testing states. Barrel entry proof is the pervasive 125. Like most modern whiskies, it is sour mash where some spent mash from previous batches, known as backset, is added to the current batch to help provide nutrient and crowd out undesirable bacteria.
👃Nose: Plenty of caramel and some hints of old wood, vanilla stumps. Some corniness and syrup which I associate with most younger Heaven Hill. Very approachable for an ostensibly young budget whiskey.
😜Palate: On the thinner side of medium with some mild alcohol astringency, actually very crushable. Nicely woody which reflects as vanilla bean but starting to veer towards being over oaked, revealed as malty sawdust and creamed corn.
💦Finish: Short and cooler than the palate, a last nip of caramel toffee, vanilla pudding, and weathered oak.
🏆 Overall: 5.25/10 - Good, A Novel foil for Evan Williams - I find J.W. Dant to be between Evan Williams and the drier JTS Brown, a mild sweetness plus a noticeable barrel influence making by favorite of the three bonded bourbons. Will it knock your socks off? Certainly not, but it is definitely worth a $20 investment to add some color to everyone's favorite cocktail bourbon. It has the edges of a young whiskey, but there is a definitive high floor influence which adds dessert flavor beyond its years and enough mouth oil to make it easy drinking.
💵Would buy again? Sure, would love to find it in the economy pricing of a 1.75L
⚖️Rating Scale:
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws | Struggle to get through the bottle
4 | Serviceable | Mixing or ice recommended.
5 | Good | Drinkable Neat | An agreeable dram indeed.
6 | Very Good | Any flaws offset by interesting flavors | A cut above.
7 | Great | You find yourself reaching for this one often | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Serve to Impress Guests | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite | You guard this bottle jealously.