Women of Whiskey: The Leaders of Log Still Distillery
The whiskey industry was once considered a man’s world. But that paradigm is shifting — and the women of Log Still Distillery are the proof.
About an hour south of Louisville in Gethsemane, KY, there’s a 350-acre bourbon destination. Log Still Distillery, founded in 2019, is more than just a whiskey-making site. It also boasts a 2,300-seat outdoor venue dubbed The Amp at Log Still, five bed-and-breakfasts, a 12-acre lake for catch-and-release fishing, and an event venue known as The Legacy at Dant Crossing.
There’s more to come, too. The Log Still Distillery team also has plans to add wooded walking trails and a farm-to-table restaurant to the property. It is truly unlike any other distillery in the area. And if you ask Chief Brand Officer Denise Ingle, she’ll attribute some of these innovative aspects to the fact that there are several women on the company’s leadership team. “Women bring a different perspective to things,” she says, “and we have a more creative approach. I also think women have a more unique sense of awareness … in everyday life and business.”
The company was founded by Lynne Dant in 2019, along with two of her family members. Now the head distiller and chief operations officer, Lynne’s unique perspective helped pave the way for Log Still Distillery’s singularity.
She explains that her cousin, Wally Dant, was running a distribution business when one of his distillery clients suggested he consider going into manufacturing. He then reached out to Lynne because of her background. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, as well as an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania — and she has 25 years of experience in operations, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and business development under her belt.
While looking into the potential new venture, Wally explored the property that Lynne’s grandfather once used for distillation decades ago, right after prohibition. “When Wally came to this site,” Lynne recalls, “he met a distant cousin of ours, Charles Dant. Together, the three of us founded the distillery.”
Today, Wally is the president and CEO, and Charles is the vice president of operations. “And Denise is a key player,” Lynne adds. “We also have the CFO, Audrey Roling, and our vice president of human resources, Renee White, joined us very early on.” Executive chef David Danielson rounds out their core team.
Fast forward just a few short years after its founding, and the distillery and tasting room has grown into the massive destination it is today — with new amenities constantly in the works. “We’re really trying to create something different in Kentucky [and in the] bourbon industry,” Lynne says. “We want to really make it a family-oriented campus where anyone can come and enjoy an experience with family and friends.” She adds that there are a lot of women out there who love bourbon — they just might not want to sip on their drinks in a stereotypical environment. “They don’t all want to go into a dark speakeasy and smoke cigars,” she says.
At Log Still Distillery, women can have their whiskey and drink it, too — all while in an inclusive, welcoming space. Parents can bring their children to the lake to fish or drop by for special family-friendly events like breakfast with Santa. Families are also shuttled to the distillery by train via a partnership with Kentucky Railway Museum.
The property is also a concert destination, with The Amp at Log Still hosting nationally renowned artists such as Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Joan Jett, and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few. And in the 20,000-square-foot event venue, there are often significant corporate events and weddings nearly every weekend in the summertime.
Lynne adds that in addition to being family-friendly and hosting various events, Log Still Distillery is one-of-a-kind in other ways, too. “Wally, Charles, and I are fifth- and sixth-generation distillers,” she explains. “That goes back to my grandfather’s grandfather and folks that distilled back in the day when the Beams started in the early 1800s.”
Because the property’s distilling history began so long ago, its Distilled Spirits Producer (DSP) number is 47. “It’s kind of like the social security number for distilleries,” Lynne explains, adding that DSP numbers today are past 20,000. “That just speaks to the history of our family in the industry and the historical relevance of this site.”
She adds that being a woman in the industry, especially in Kentucky, is certainly not the norm — but she hopes it won’t always be the case. “Being in the middle of the big guys, as they’re often called — the Brown-Formans, and Sazeracs, and Beams — you could call it male-dominated,” she says. “But I think there are a lot of craft distilleries out there that are run by women. I’m hoping that before I retire, we can get to a point where being a woman in this industry is not such a unique phenomenon.”
We hope so, too. To find a woman-owned distillery near you, visit distillerytrail.com.
All photography courtesy of Log Still Distillery.
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Lennie Omalza
Originally from Hawaii, Lennie Omalza is a Louisville-based freelance writer of over 18 years. Lennie is a yoga-loving foodie who travels as often as she can and enjoys writing about food, homes, and weddings. You can find more of Lennie's work at Eater, Hawaii Home & Remodeling, and The Louisville Courier-Journal.