2026 Bourbon & Beyond Preview, Vintage JW Dant, APW, and Monk's Road Single Barrel; Ep. 90

Dan and Steph: Good evening. Welcome back to Bourbon Brass and Beyond. Hello, everyone. Tonight I am joined by the most wonderful, Steph. Steph did something absolutely amazing today. She came home from a yard sale. And she brought in, she's like, Hey, got you something. And she found a Distilled in 1977, bottled in 1982, JW Dant. It did. Yeah. And I am super excited about this. it's got a good taxi on it. the label's coming off, but that's okay. But it was it says distilled in the spring of 77, which This would be the closest bottle I've ever seen to Yeah. Our birthdays. Right. So I was born March thirty first and you were born May first, so this bottle could have actually been put in here on one of our birthdays. That's right. Yeah. now so that date range that makes this a Schenley bottle. Schenley bought JW Dant 1953. And then in the 60s, they moved the the distilling and bottling operations to Frankfurt or Louisville. So in Frankfurt, it was the Ancient Age distillery, which became Buffalo Trace. and in Louisville it was Bernheim or sometimes Stitzelweller. So this could be Stitzelweller juice, it could be Bernheim juice, but everything I've read and I could look up, it's still going to be the original mash bill. And then it was bottled in the fall of nineteen eighty two. So we've got a five and a half year here. Yeah. but the liquid itself I noticed looks great. Absolutely clear. in the bottle, of course, is very cool. I mean, it's vintage like us. It's, you know, forty nine years old. That's right. So, It's okay if the label fell off. I mean, we're falling apart a little bit too. So that's okay. But just the fact that that tax strip was, you know, completely intact on there. It was it was amazing to find this. So we love the old bourbon. And so Dan couldn't wait to try it. I think you wanted to try it out earlier this afternoon, but you know, you had things to do. Places to take kids and stuff, so right. So tonight was a football game and the kids did great. the the school they played was really small, like I think they had fifteen total football players. Really? Well, I think they started with sixteen or seventeen, but by the end of the game they only had fifteen. So at the end of the first half, Springfield was winning forty to nothing. Yeah. But Wesley being a freshman at a varsity game got to play the whole fourth quarter, which was great experience for him. And he and he did really good. I'm I'm pretty happy about it. He was pushing around bigger kids, it was it was good. And then of course Wyatt and Asher both played in the band in March. And so yeah, it was busy. but then got home late because we had to go back to the school and then back to here, so mm hmm and my kids kinda just hung out. And I went to a dinner for one of my friends' birthdays, so we had our ladies and I out and I think we actually had a reservation for ten, but there were actually twelve of us that showed up, so that was kind of fun. We had a really good time. Really good food. I had a ribeye, so can't ever complain about that. And I brought home their famous chocolate cake. I've been hearing about this chocolate cake for a long time. I haven't even tasted it yet, but I've got it. Nice. Yeah. 'Cause we also had a cheesecake for the birthday. which was a peanut butter cheesecake from Mocha House. So those are good. Yeah, so you're gonna crack it. I'm gonna crack it. Mm-hmm. it's gonna rip the paper. Yeah. You need a knife. not really sure. So it is a twist off cap. And it it's coming. There we are. So there's no cork in that. No cork. So there's also no cork to fall in. Does it smell? How's it smell? So everything I read it said I mean it smells good. It doesn't smell ethanol y. Okay. But it it w it was definitely sealed. Okay, so this is a hunter proof. Yeah. Yeah. Now, everything I read it said the best wait fifteen to twenty minutes after opening. But it smells great, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah, it smells really sweet. The original JW Dant mash bill isn't as sweet as the current Heaven Hills. But because it was bottled at a lower barrel proof. Mm. Yeah. And it the wood grains were different and everything, so it so it comes off as sweeter. but it's got a little bit higher rye than the current. These older ones are special. So what else did you pull out here? You you pulled out because we're talking about Bourbon and Beyond. Talking about Bourbon and Beyond. Okay. Before we get there, real quick, Steph also got this really cool old George Dickle bottle. It's an empty bottle. So that was at an an auction. And yeah, I just thought it was really cool. The way it's curves and The way it has the leather strap on the side and the bottom. Like to carry it around. Just put it over your shoulder and just put it. Take your bourbon with you. Yeah. Well as as you would. As you would. Yeah. Gun in one hand, bourbon in the other. Right. Yeah. I love how it's got that huge indentation underneath. Yeah. that smells so good. It does. It smells really good. look at the legs. So that's what it's known for. It it it's known for the high rye, have a little bit more of the pepper, but it's got a more chewy mouthfeel. It's very viscous. Yeah. Good. Yeah. You get the pepper, but yeah, that's good. So I guess my question would be a JW Dant these days isn't considered a high end bourbon. No. So back in the back in the day when this was distributed in nineteen eighty two, where would this kind of have fallen in the chain? Th this would have been a a mid tier. Okay. A mid tier. Now they did come out with a couple of ten years. so that would have been more high end. But right, 'cause it's a five and a half year basically. Yeah. But even then, you know, a lot of the old bourbons, like the old Fitzgerald was only six years old. So Right. And rye doesn't necessarily mature as well as wheat does. So wheat takes a little bit longer. So five and a half years is Mm, mm. It's definitely bitey. Yeah. But It's good, good finish. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's nice. And I think for I'm I'm kind of more of course you're more into drinking the bourbon and I'm more into just kind of enjoying these the bottle. You know, I'm very into the art. And just these old bottles. They're just so cool. Dan's since eighteen thirty six. Yeah. And I just love how it's, you know It's it's embossed or what do you wanna say? It's it's I think the JW Dant bottling from the sixties, fifties, sixties, seventies were beautiful. I mean like that forty eight JW Dant that like or the tipsy bottle that we picked up, they're just the coolest blown glass bottles. And that's just something to consider, you know, is the when you were back in the day these bottles were probably so inexpensive to manufacture. Yeah. And now we know from visiting different different distillers that yeah, the bottle cost can eat up quite a bit of the profit. Yeah. So not that they're all basic, but I mean most of them now are just kind of your basic bottles. Pumpkin spice latte basic. Yeah. you know, other than the Willet bottle, which is is pretty. and that old swagger bottle, which is really pretty. Yeah. These old bottles you really can't beat it. They're heavy, they're pretty. They've got just, you know, it's got this indentation on the back. Yeah, it's just Yeah. Yeah. They're unique. Mm. That's so good. Thanks, babe. You're welcome. What a find. Yeah. And also, like, maybe your grandfather was drinking this, you know, when you were five, six years old. Well, I know he was. Yeah. Like this from the same bottle. I mean not this bottle, but it could have been the same barrel. It could have been. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's pretty cool. So whenever I see a JW Dan item Grandpa. Yep. Mm. But completely unrelated. Yeah. Is this Log Still distillery bottle? Right. Because Log Still Distillery has no affiliation with the JW Dant brand. Correct. And the JW Dant brand is currently, the current iteration is bottled by Heaven Hells. Right. And owned by Heaven Hills. Right. But the Log Still Distillery. But Log Still Distillery ran by JW Wally Dant. Right. We're big fans of Wally and Log Still distillery. Yeah. And it happens to be on the grounds of the original family distillery. Right. Built on the same property. And his grandfather's house, which used to be 35 feet from the Rick House, is still there, and we got to stay there. but this is a single barrel from him that cheers the seven years. So this is juice that he's done. It's now seven years old. you haven't opened it yet. I haven't. Yeah. So this is what we got on our last trip to Kentucky. it was a newer one. Right, we hadn't seen it before. Yep. When we had been down there. And Wally Wally was having a dinner with a group of people at Monks Road Boiler House. And so he happened to be there when we went there for dinner. So we sat at the bar with him for a while and he signed our bottle as he signs almost all of our bottles. But I think what happened was he went to grab this bottle and he said something about being short. And so on the side it says Dan & Steph to short people. Love Wally. Which I appreciate. Because I'm short. Yep. You not so much, but so I guess he really wrote that to me. Right. And it and the reason we're doing this bottle on the Bourbon and Beyond Preview is we are doing a bottle share at Monks Road Boiler House on Friday the twenty-fifth from one to three PM. We'll be downstairs in the vault area. downstairs bar. so please if you are in the area and interested So it's it's a free event. Yep. You just show up. it is a bottle sharing event, so if you could bring a bottle, that'd be great. But if you can't, I mean, I think that's okay too. And yeah, we'll be there with some good stuff. We'll be there with some bottles to share. Yeah. For sure. Gonna take that old granddad. Right. We're taking down the old granddad and what year was that? Nineteen seventy six. Half gallon. Yeah. Eat my knife. yeah. That's in Some heavy, heavy plastic there. There's the perforation. Right. So bourbon and beyond, that's gonna be a marathon, not a sprint, for sure. Four full days of a music festival in bourbon. I'm so excited for this. I'm excited too. I'm just hoping it doesn't get too exhausting. Right. because I Honestly, we go to we go to one concert, we go to a concert and think about how f how you feel after you go to that concert. You just kinda wanna lay down and go to bed. Right. But this is gonna be like four or five concerts in a row time wise. Well, more than that. It's like an all day event. Well, I mean if you were going to if if every concert was three hours, I guess, that's what I'm thinking. But yes, there are gonna be tons of people playing. At different stages. Y it was like thirty bands or sixty bands. I think it's it's a lot. Thursday the twenty fourth is when the bands start playing. And they start at noon. Yeah. So you have bands starting at noon and then you have the last band, the headliner, finishing at basically ten fifty five PM or You know, that's that's a long day. But cheap trek is from 225 till three. And you won't see them. Okay. So last month when we went to Kentucky, when I was packing, my brain got a little confused and I was thinking, no, I don't know which bands I'm going to go watch because I haven't done the research. And guess what? I still haven't done the research. so there are some people that I've seen mentioned, not I mean Four Non Blondes is playing, that's that's a throwback to what? We were we in high school or were we in college? Yeah, but they're on at four five. That's on Thursday. Yeah, but from Thursday from three thirty to four thirty. okay. We have somewhere else to be. Yeah, we're gonna be in the media tent. I know a lot of people like goose. I'm not a huge fan of goose, but they are playing that day. I would defin I'm hearing a lot of things about Queen of Queens of the Stone Age. a lot of people like them. And the headliner Thursday is Foo Fighters. Right. So I can't say I listen to a lot of Foo Fighters, but I think I have heard that they're a pretty good show live. And of course when you see somebody live, it's a totally different different ballgame, typically. You know, you're but there's a lot of other people that are playing that day that I don't even I I think I wanna discover like someone cool, you know, someone new to listen to and and we did a little bit. We we've listened to the Bourbon and Beyond twenty twenty six playlist that somebody created, maybe the organization. Yeah. So I do have some things saved, so I'll look at that. Derek Trucks is doing an on stage interview. introducing the new batch two at the search. Okay. And by the way, I this single barrel smells so nice. Yeah. This is a wheated 120 proof. Seven and a half years. Cheers to seven years. That's great. And I do feel like there is this just this taste that comes out of the barrel from Gethsemane. Mm. You know, I Well, because they use the water there, right? Yeah, limestone water. Mm-hmm. great aeration on the hills, like yeah where the rook houses are. And it makes sense that it's gonna have a taste depending on where it's made. Yeah. If it's made from the water there. When we did that distillery tour. And Wally was take us around. Yeah. Really beautiful grounds. And again, I know we talk about it, but they do have the Airbnbs there and and I did see someone I think it was TikTok or Instagram and they were talking about their experience staying there because they went to one of their concerts and yeah, it's great. It's gonna get discovered and then everyone's gonna wanna go there and stay there. So if you haven't, you should probably go there now. Yeah. that's good. So we probably won't be getting there Friday until about four four ish. So I guess we will have a have a bit of a break. Right. So this Ass Pocket Whiskey by Derek Trucks and Danny Wimmer Productions signed. we got those signed last year at Kroger. Yeah. We met up. And so this was the first released from those two together the search and now they're coming out with the new lot number seven the search okay and that's going to be presented on Thursday. Very nice. So I'm hoping we get a sneak peek on that. right. During our interview with him at three thirty. Yeah. That'd be nice. Yeah. Very cool. So that's the last one we're gonna so Friday at it's of Monsters and Men. And I'm I've been hearing a lot about Yachtly Crew that they put on a good show. So it's a lot of like Yacht Rock. Like Yacht Rock. You do you know Yacht Rock? No. Well. Anyway. supposedly they're lot of fun. But best part of Friday, it ends with Mumford and Sons. I'm absolutely stoked for that. That's gonna be so unclear. Mm. Was this one opened or did you just open this one? I just opened this one. Okay, so three three fresh cracks. Yeah. Smell the apple open. It is a ten year. It's a ten year, hundred and seven proof. Smell the apple. I Does smell good. A little sweet. Good legs. Good legs on that. And even their their regular release, the blue label regular release, I thought was was was good. Is that the one that we had when we were Kroger? Yeah. I mean that one was a lot younger. Yeah. So for me it was that was harder. I I mean 'cause we had had the twenty year. So of course that's gonna be superior. But yeah. So the that one was a little bitey for me, but ten year, twenty year. The nose just keeps getting better. the other thing about this festival is the weather. So you think of it's gonna be warm in September in Kentucky. Well, according to the weather forecast currently, Thursday is only a high of 66 and a low of 57. And the highest temperature we're gonna get is on Sunday, where it's gonna be 75. So In a way that's kinda nice because I think typically you're worried, I gotta I gotta hydrate, you know? Right. You gotta keep hydrated all day. Not that you don't, even when the weather's like this, but it's gonna be partially cloudy and nice temps. I mean that's a lot easier to manage. Yeah. Even if I have to take a sweatshirt, which seems weird, but yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause Fifty fifties at night, that's gonna be a bit cold for me. Fifty seven. Yeah, it's gonna be it's gonna be fifties every night. I don't know. Someone said it's a festival. You're not gonna be cold. Right. But I don't know if it's ever s if the high temperature has ever been this low. 'Cause I think what they're saying is during the day it's hot. So that's all in the pavement. At night it's not gonna cool down, but Might need to take a swatcher. Or buy one. Gotta get your merch. Get my merch. Well, the thing is I bought some merch but they're shipping it here, but I'm pretty sure it said you don't get it until after the festival. So what I really hope is that we don't just go and buy the same thing. 'Cause you know, I've already forgotten what we bought. No, no, we bought we got a poster. I I remember I got and you got one of the T shirts, but I don't remember which one. So Hopefully we don't buy the same thing. Right. But we might. yeah, so this year at Bourbon and Beyond, they're doing this series called Fork and Flask Stage. And that's what you're talking about with with Derek. Derek's doing that. Chris Stapleton's doing that. And I think they're going up with chefs and doing some kind of food. Maybe some kind of food bourbon. Yeah, I but Preston Van Winkle's doing it. Yeah Jason Brauner's doing it. Okay. Yeah, I was just Maybe I don't see them all on the schedule. I was just emailing Preston earlier today and Name drop. Yes, that was a name drop. Yeah, I gotta f I gotta find out who these people are. yeah, okay. Chris Stapleton's also going up there on Saturday. and Preston too. Yeah, he's Saturday at four thirty. Yep. And then Chris Stableton is the final act of that. And yeah, I don't think we're like huge country fans, but I do like a lot of Chris Stapleton's songs. So I feel like he's kinda he's kinda bridged the gap in a way. Makes you like it even if you don't like mainstream country. Even if you don't like traveler whiskey. Have we even we haven't even opened those bottles. I think I had a sample at Buffalo Trace, but we haven't even opened I thought we did. I don't even know where they are. They're right there. No, that one's not open, but that's the the the full I did I have had them. You've had them. I've had the normal and the the foolproof. Well, and this is something I think we talked about before is when a celebrity is gonna do a bourbon, maybe maybe they don't know as much about bourbon as a very knowledgeable person who really loves bourbon knows. So I think it's a bit young, right? The Travelers is a bit young. And I think that's probably its main downfall. And it's a blend. it's a weird blend. Okay. But I don't want to be down on Chris Stapleton. No. Because if you know if he ever wants to hang out and drink his bourbon with me, I'm down for that. But and I don't want to say all celebrities 'cause like the ass pocket whiskey stuff Well that's what I'm saying that's what I just mean like with some. Obviously Derek has a good thing going because this is he's put out what, five or six different yeah. And I think they're pretty popular. And when you're putting out a twenty year and a ten year, I mean I think you're you're getting good stuff. Yeah. Mm. But Sunday is the day. So we got Dave Matthews as the headliner, which was kind of the whole reason, you know, I think that's how you pulled me in. No, it's gonna be cool. Lisa Loeb is playing that day. Counting crows. Counting crows. Yeah, I mean and Jesse Wells, I really like Jesse Wells. So he opened for Dave at the Gorge. And he is a real like he plays the guitar, he also plays the harmonica, and he kinda has that raspy Bob Dylan type voice. So I want to see him. And he's a ginger. So I've heard the name Amos Lee, and I don't remember why. Yes, I think he sings that. The Windows Roll Down. Yes. Yes. That song would always play on a playlist. Yeah. Alright, well that's at three o'clock on Sunday. Okay. and then Carrie Van Winkle is going to be on Fork and Flask. It's Sunday at four thirty. probably talking about they're probably gonna be using their Pappy and Co. Pappy and Co. Because they sell a lot of like, things for cooking. Yeah. And I then she was also gonna talk about the the bourbon for good as well. but all in all I and Paula Cole, like there are some Paula Cole songs I really like. Had her C D. Hootie and the Blowfish. Yeah, I know. It's wild. Holy cow. And these people are all Sunday, aren't they? It's like Sunday got everything. I guess we just have to be flexible and not worry about like where we're standing or how close we are and just kinda float between the stages and listen to everything. I think that's what I'm gonna try to be. But then you know I'm gonna turn into a maniac once I get there. I'm gonna be like I need to be sprinting for the merch line. We need to be on the rail for this person. Telling me that we're we're not buying any merch and then as soon as we get there you're gonna be sprinting for the merch line. You know The funny thing about the merch is that I feel like yeah, I buy a lot of merch, but I feel like you're right there with me. Like when we went to the Cincinnati Open, I feel like you got just as many things as I did. Well, at the same time though, I'm like 'cause I lost a bunch of weight, I don't like it was nice stuff that the colored shirts and stuff like that that No, we bought some very nice expensive things there. I got a very nice Lacoste sweatshirt, but I think that costs the same amount as your golf sh golf shirt. Yeah. That you bought. But you've gotten compliments on it, so Yeah. It's the whole thing. As far as who's gonna be there in the bourbon world, I mean what have you heard or seen? So I did get an email that the master distiller from Stitzelweller and Bullet is going to be there and is available to do interviews. Okay. so I'm on their their media notifications. Yeah. I know Angels Envy will be there because they they're a big sponsor. Dark Arts is gonna be there as well. Dark Arts. no I don't think Preston's bringing anything but but they'll be there. Pappy and Co. and there were a few others, but I think they're just gonna have like the the trucks. You know, th they might have the and they're gonna give out samples. I know Blade and Bow's gonna be there, get given out twelve year samples of the Solera Reserve. So is that mainly what it's gonna be the bourbon the bourbon brands are gonna be set up and they'll maybe give a sample or they'll maybe be selling like a certain kind of drink with their bourbon in a yes. Yeah. Well, I'm just gonna you know, try to go with the flow. I'm looking forward to it. I'm super excited for this one. Yeah. Gonna have to wear very comfortable shoes. Yeah. And we're staying right across from the venue. Mm-hmm. You know, so we can walk it. That'll be nice. the only thing we're gonna be traveling for is when we go into town for the the bottle share. Right. But being across the street is great because when the concert ends, I'm gonna go directly to bed and fall asleep and you're probably gonna have to wake me up and be like, We're going back to the concert in fifteen minutes. Get up. you slept until eleven thirty, it's time to go. That's right. Rally. I've been up since 8 a.m. eating the pre breakfast. Yeah, you you you get along okay without sleep for a while. You can do it. You can do it. I can't. I'll be asleep somewhere. I'll be asleep on somebody's bourbon truck. I'm like, I need to go to sleep. Don't mind her, she'll be fine. Yeah. I'll be the the bourbon bourbon and beyond bum I'll just be asleep on some bench over in the what is it, the amusement park section. 'Cause you get f that's free with the with the pass. Right. Yeah. I'll just be over there riding a roller coaster over and over. Trying to wake up. yeah, well You tried three different three very different things here. Yeah. Yeah. But you really like all of these. I do. Yeah. I do. They all I mean they're all very different. but they're all very good at what they do. So but getting an old dusty like that, that's Yeah. Yeah. It's really nice. Yeah. With a JW Dant. JW Dant. 'Cause again you don't always see it. Right. And yeah. Found it. Great find, bae Yeah. Yeah. Fresh crack on a fifty year old juice. I know. And it was phenomenal. So, well, if anybody is going to Bourbon and Beyond, please send us a Instagram message. Go to the website bourbonbrassandbeyond.com and leave us a message. Yeah. Or reach out, let us know. Come say hi. Or come to the bottle share. Bottle share. Yeah. JD fridges is supposed to go. So JD likes the name drop too. So he'd appreciate this. Yeah. but yeah, he There's also there is a swag swap happening on Sunday for the Dave Matthews fans, but I think anybody could participate. And I believe that's happening at four o'clock, kind of in the middle. There's Facebook page for it. Is carry-on? What time carry carry's on at four thirty. Yeah. All right, so we'll have to do the swag swap. But you know, with Dave people, you can find them and you can s you can trade, you know, be a lot of like trading stickers and trading bracelets. That's what they people do, or trading little little trinkets. And some people are really creative and give give away really nice things or really really we had stickers made up. We did. We had stickers made up. So we will be there passing those out. Yeah. So, yeah, find us. Yep. And once again, leave comments, like five stars, subscribe, any complaints email Bob and have a great night. Hope to see you there. All right, thank you. Thanks. Good night.