Have John Dutton’s whiskey decanter and glasses from Yellowstone shown up in 1923‘s Spencer Dutton scenes? From the prequel’s glassware in episodes 4 to 6, Here’s what we know so far.
“That is a hundred years old and belonged to your grandfather. Break something else,” Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) told her father, John (Kevin Costner) in Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 7 of his Swarovski whiskey decanter after the patriarch nearly threw it in a fit of rage. Ever since, fans have been watching each appearance of whiskey glassware on prequel 1923 with eagle-eye precision.
Will the real grandfather of John Dutton please stand up? And will he do so with whiskey decanter and glasses in hand?
Beth’s line was a nice touch at the time, but that was it. 1923 had yet to premiere, and fans had yet to enter the debate over who that grandfather of John Dutton actually was. This would change, however (and swiftly) as the first four episodes of the prequel endeared audiences to Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), a Dutton who feels far more suited to become John’s direct ancestor than his sidelined nephew, Jack (Darren Mann).
And speculation would reach a fever pitch with 1923 Season 1, Episode 4, when Spencer and his fiance, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) began drinking from a crystal whiskey decanter and glass set. Was this it!? Had franchise mastermind Taylor Sheridan just confirmed John Dutton’s actual grandfather with a clever easter egg?
Well, no, to put it bluntly. Although the internet ran with the connection and multiple trades reported the Yellowstone and 1923 whiskey sets as one and the same, they were/are not:
As whiskey is poured for the adoring couple in 1923‘s Episode 4, it seemed like a surefire match. Yet close examination of the glassware reveals them to be different styles. The decanters are different shapes, and the glasses are of a completely different diamond/snowflake pattern as opposed to John’s linear tumblers (above).
Even if they were a match, Spencer is a utilitarian veteran who only travels with what he needs (as we see throughout all episodes). And that glassware A.) Surely belonged to the swanky African resort they were in and B.) Spencer definitely didn’t pack a bunch of frivolous glass for their oceanic voyages.
‘1923’ Season 1, Episode 6 Places Focus on Whiskey Glasses & Decanter Yet Again
In short, those 1923 Episode 4 whiskey glasses and decanter got left behind. They weren’t brought along to be inherited by John Dutton over the next century.
If anything has become clear, however, it’s that Sheridan is intent on teasing audiences now. In Episode 6, 1923‘s most compelling romance finds itself in the presence of a fine captain, played by Game of Thrones‘ Joseph Mawle. Mawle’s captain pours them both whiskey from a decanter and glasses that look similar to those oft-pondered over glasses of John Dutton’s in Yellowstone. And as the whiskey is poured, the camera distinctly focuses on the set. We get a good look at the decanter and glasses as a result.
But again, they are not a match:
Even if this set were presented to Spencer and Alexandra as a wedding gift at some point, both the glasses and decanter are different. And the captain already gave these two the ring of his late wife. He’s probably not looking to give them anything further.
And so the mystery of the Dutton’s true Family Tree continues. That is, until Sheridan places John Dutton’s distinct whiskey decanter and glasses into a future episode of 1923. If (or when, more aptly) he does, we’ll know if Spencer – or Jack Dutton – is the grandfather of television’s most prominent patriarch.
1923 returns next Sunday, Feb. 19 for Season 1, Episode 7 exclusively on Paramount Plus.
