Kentucky state and local officials joined the Dant family, owners of the new Log Still distillery, this past week to cut the ribbon on the distillery’s tasting room, which signifies a major step forward for a two-phase project expected to create 146 full-time jobs with $36 million in total investment.
“This is a great day for Nelson County and Kentucky’s thriving bourbon industry,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in a prepared statement. “Log Still Distillery’s campus embodies everything that makes the bourbon industry so important to our state. This project will provide economic growth for the surrounding area while attracting visitors from across the state and beyond our borders.
“I want to thank Wally Dant and everyone at Log Still Distillery for bringing this promising investment to the commonwealth. We’re building a better Kentucky, and we’re doing it with companies that share our vision for the future,” he added.
The tasting room’s primary focal point is a Vendome Copper mini-still, and also features an overhead, bi-fold door that opens as weather allows so visitors can enjoy outside tastings with a view of the Kentucky countryside.
The tasting room officially opens to the public May 18th, and will premiere Log Still’s initial spirits. Debut products will include Monk’s Road Dry Gin, Monk’s Road Barrel Finished Gin and Monk’s Road Fifth District Series Bourbon: Cold Spring Distillery, the first in a rotating series of bourbons named for historic pre-Prohibition distillers in the region.
Log Still distillers plan additional products, including bourbon and rye whiskey under the Monk’s Road name and Tennessee whiskeys under the Rattle and Snap label.
Leaders of the startup distillery moved forward last month with a $24-million Phase 2 investment to establish Dant Crossing, a 300-plus-acre campus that is home to the distillery, including the newly-opened tasting room, and other amenities. The announcement followed a Phase 1 investment of $12 million unveiled in 2019 to establish the operation at the historic site.
New jobs created across both phases of the project include distillery and bottling operations, hospitality, event operations and restaurant positions.
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Dant Crossing’s first amenities debuted earlier this year with the opening of the Homestead Bed & Breakfast and the Poplar Cottage rentals. Additional amenities are expected to open later this year, including an amphitheater, restaurant, train depot and event/conference center, with plans to add a visitor’s center, museum, and gift shop in 2022.
“This is a monumental day for the Dant family, and we are grateful that Gov. Beshear could be with us to celebrate,” said Log Still President Wally Dant. “We can’t wait for everyone to come out to the campus and try our Monk’s Road bourbon and gins.”
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