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Old J.W. Dant
Posted:
Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:07 pmby Bourbon Joe
I got hold of a bottle of J.W. Dant that was made in 1959 and bottled in 1969. It is 86 proof. Does anyone know who would have made (distilled) it in those days? Thanks for your help.
Joe
Posted:
Tue Sep 13, 2005 11:26 amby BostonEnthusiast
I just got a similar one -- 8 year old bottled in 1968. Reasonably impressed but I haven't done tasting notes yet.
From Mike Veach's timeline, I think the distiller is Schenley (later bought by UD.)
Posted:
Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:08 pmby bunghole
Just read Professor Veach's J.W. Dant time line. That's why he posted it!
Try searching next time.
Posted:
Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:38 pmby bourbonv
Does the bottle have a DSP number? Dant was one of the brands that was made at several different distilleries under Schenley.
Mike Veach
Posted:
Tue Sep 13, 2005 1:59 pmby BostonEnthusiast
Mike: do non-BIB bottles have a DSP number? I can't find a one in my collection, though all of the labels have various numbers tucked in the corners.
I've used a combination of tax stamp/UPC/gov't warning/year stamps in the bottles to guess at some of what I've got.
Posted:
Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:29 pmby bourbonv
Most non Bottled-in-Bond bottles do not have DSP numbers, but sometimes they did put it on decanters. I was hoping that since this non-bonded bourbon gave the made and bottled dates, it might also give the DSP number. A long at best, but possible. Dant was made at several distilleries including the Dant Distillery in Gethsemane, Bernheim and Ancient Age.
Mike Veach
J.W. Dant
Posted:
Tue Sep 13, 2005 11:21 pmby Bourbon Joe
The Dant that I have is a decanter and has no DSP number.
Joe
Posted:
Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:07 amby bunghole
Joe, would you perform a compare and contrast tasting between the Dant you have and what is today bottled as Dant by Heaven Hill?
Posted:
Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:46 amby Bourbon Joe
bunghole wrote:Joe, would you perform a compare and contrast tasting between the Dant you have and what is today bottled as Dant by Heaven Hill?
Linn,
I'd love to do the comparison but PA doesn't sell any J.W. Dant. I'll taste this one though and let you know my comments.
Joe
Posted:
Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:13 amby bunghole
Joe - A Winner Is You!
PM your real name and address, and I'll ship you a bottle of Heaven Hill's version of J.W. Dant Bottled In Bond.
HUZZAH!
ima
Posted:
Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:45 amby BostonEnthusiast
Mike: My Dant says Frankfort and Louisville on the box; Louisville on the bottle (NYC on the hang tag
) Decanter stamped 1968.
Linn: Love to try the comparison, but no modern Dant BIB in these parts, either.
Posted:
Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:22 amby bunghole
BostonEnthusiast wrote:Mike: My Dant says Frankfort and Louisville on the box; Louisville on the bottle (NYC on the hang tag
) Decanter stamped 1968.
Linn: Love to try the comparison, but no modern Dant BIB in these parts, either.
OK BE send me your real name and adress and I'll split the the bottle of Dant BIB between you and Joe, but you've got to post a comparison tasting between the two.
DAMN YANKEES!
PANTS AWAY BABY!
ima
Posted:
Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:06 pmby BostonEnthusiast
The plot thickens...
After saying I can't find any J.W. Dant BIB in New England, I just stumbled tonight on a shelf of post-tax-stamp, pre-government-warning, DSP-KY-31 liters!
Mike: guesses as to the age? Will this represent the bottle ima was gonna send, or should I pick it up and do a 3-way (Schenley/UD/HH) tasting?
Posted:
Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:59 amby bourbonv
The Dant without tax stamps but also without government warning labels is somewhere between 1984 and 1987 or 88 - I forget exactly when the warnings became manditory. This will actually be Schenley product as well, but made at either Bernheim or Lawrenceburg, Ind.- the two distilleries they owned and operated at the time (besides Dickel which only made Dickel).
Mike Veach
Posted:
Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:56 amby bunghole
!@#$%^&**$#@!!!
Joe & Kevin - Gentlemen I have just returned from my ABC store empty handed as they had no J.W. Dant in stock. Maybell, the assistant manager and sweetie at large, checked the inventories of Staunton's ABC's and they also showed zero bottles. I didn't ask her to check any of the Charlottesville stores or Harrisonburg, so there may still be an outside chance of getting some. The computer still shows J.W. Dant as available but, Virginia's ABC HQ in Richmond is hopelessly inept, and still shows many bottlings as available that haven't been around in years.
Just to clue you in on Heaven Hill's version - I would characterize it as a bar room brawl in a bottle, and about as rough & tumble a bourbon as you're likely to find anywhere. It's very simular to Fighting Cock in flavor, but without the hideous napalm finish.
Hell, maybe you should thank me for not sending it to you!
imatried! 8)