J.T.S. Brown Bottled-in-Bond Vs. J.W. Dant BiB

I paid $9 each for these, and I think they are widely regarded as the best choices in the $10 price range… They are both Bottled-in-Bond, both distilled by Heaven Hill, both aged at-least 4yrs, and of-course both 100 proof. So which is the better choice for your hard-earned Hamilton?
I mean seriously, my kids could afford these with their allowance money! 😜

- JW Dant is named after “Joseph Washington Dant”, a Kentucky distiller during the 1830s who supposedly fashioned a still out of a hollowed out tree trunk (because copper stills were expensive).
- JTS Brown is named after John Thompson Street Brown Jr, the founder of the original liquor business that would eventually become the Brown-Forman Corporation (who is now the owner of Old Forester).

Ok… these are actually incredibly similar, so I’m going to review them together and then just point-out the small differences…
On the nose of both you get sweet-corn, banana, charred oak, vanilla and slight citrus. In addition, JTS has a little bit of spice present.
The palate opens with creamy sweet-corn, along with charred oak, vanilla, some caramel, and a little saltiness. The JTS also has a little rye-spice throughout, and a little less sweetness.
The medium finish on both is slightly hot with more oak, sweet-corn, and a little bitter-orange-citrus. Again, the JTS has a little less musty sweet-corn, and a little more of the baking spices.

Verdict) These are both impressively flavorful for the price. They actually beat a few younger bottles I’ve had in the $40 range. Neither of them are going to knock your socks off, but I would gladly drink either any day of the week. For my palate that appreciates more complexity, I would choose the JTS Brown because of the increased spice.