Bottled In Bond: A Seal of Approval

American whiskey historically was a bit like the Wild West, guided not by rules and regulations but by a lawlessness that encouraged questionable practices that occasionally resulted in deadly consequences. These included adding color, flavor, and chemicals—ranging from tobacco and turpentine to iodine and kerosene— all the while calling the product “whiskey,” though you’d be hard-pressed to recognize it as such today.

At the same time, distribution was far different than today— though distillers sold barreled whiskey directly to retailers, they also sold to rectifiers, who were both blenders and distributors. While there were a handful of good rectifiers, among them William Weller and Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, both of whom believed in the art of blending, many unscrupulous operators ultimately gave the word “rectifier” a bad name. They were responsible for the above-mentioned atrocious additives, doing it to boost yields and thus profits. Eventually, the industry reached a breaking point, and the government stepped in with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 (see sidebar), the first consumer protection act passed by Congress. The law received a boost from the robust support of one man in particular: Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., known to whiskey drinkers today as Col. E.H. Taylor, who oversaw the O.F.C. Distillery (now Buffalo Trace). By the time Prohibition rolled around, there were about 800 bonded warehouses in the U.S.

What makes a bonded warehouse bonded? Central to the arrangement were actual locks and keys, for everything from individual valves in the distillery to the warehouses, with one set belonging to excisemen and one belonging to the distillery; both keys were necessary for access. Government officials would check the warehouses regularly, working full time from an on-premise office in order to ensure distillers weren’t tampering with barrels. That practice was discontinued in the 1980s, and today oversight is done electronically with a system of audits, which are conducted every few years. Bonded warehouses were also required to be within 10 miles of the distillery; as with the on-site excise men, that practice isn’t strictly observed today.

But in the post-Prohibition years, bottled in bond (BIB) began to fade as a popular quality proposition for whiskey drinkers, except among the older set. There were various reasons for this, perhaps most importantly the increase in whiskey advertising that managed to drown out established selling points in favor of superlatives about the advertised whiskey in question. The number of bonded warehouses in the post-Prohibition years gradually fell to just 300 as bottled in bond began experiencing a slow and steady decline as a style. The passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 also meant bottled in bond designations weren’t as important— because of protections in place under that law, the specifications of bottled in bond were no longer absolutely necessary. But distillers then (and now) continued using the designation, partly because it was perceived by many whiskey lovers as an indication of quality.

As whiskey sales limped through the lean years of the late 20th century, bottled in bond all but vanished from the whiskey lexicon. But in the 2000s, Heaven Hill decided to place more emphasis on its bonded whiskey efforts. It was an area where the company had expertise, given it was the foundation of its business. When the distillery opened in 1935, the five founding Shapira brothers made the strategic decision not to release any young whiskey, but rather to wait 4 years for a bottled in bond version to be ready. Old Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond was the inaugural label, and it soon became the No.-1 selling whiskey in Kentucky. By the 2000s, Heaven Hill had a number of bonded whiskeys in its arsenal, including Old Fitzgerald, Henry McKenna, and Mellow Corn, among others. “By the early 2000s, bottled in bond was under-served, under-resourced, and very quiet, but we could start to see a little life,” says Heaven Hill executive chairman Max Shapira. Today, Heaven Hill has 70 bonded warehouses and makes a dozen different BIB whiskeys, including the most recently released Heaven Hill 7 year old bottled in bond, which debuted in 2019.

These days, the company is all-in on the style. “Bottled in bond whiskeys are some of the most restricted and regulated spirits on planet Earth, and they’re the rarest spirits on planet Earth—if there are around 2,700 distilleries in the U.S., and around 8,000 brands of bourbon and American whiskey, only about 100 of those are bottled in bond,” argues Heaven Hill brand ambassador Bernie Lubbers. Lubbers’s enthusiasm for bottled in bond is evident via a tattoo on his right bicep, which reads: “Bonded Kentucky straight bourbon 100 proof.” (“That’s how seriously we take bottled in bond here at Heaven Hill,” he jokes.) His business card even lists out all the requirements of bottled in bond.

New Riff and BIB

Other distillers are staking their claim on the style. Farther north in Kentucky, New Riff debuted its first bourbon and rye in 2018, and both were bottled in bond. Today, most of its core lineup is BIB, with the exception of its single barrel whiskeys (which, by definition, cannot be bottled in bond as they’re barrel strength).

“When we opened New Riff, our foundational quality principle was ‘Never fiddle with the whiskey,’” explains co-founder, distiller, and vice president of strategic development Jay Erisman. “And that meant it would be higher proof, because we’re not adding as much water to it and we weren’t chill filter-ing. We weren’t committed to bonded, but one day it just crystallized—if the quality had to come first, then how could we not bottle everything we do as bottled in bond? It’s a uniquely American quality standard that still represents a commitment to quality and is helpful, if not quite as necessary as it was in 1897.” About half of New Riff’s production is bonded, and it runs the gamut from wheat whiskeys to ryes to heirloom grain bourbons.

Newer to the bottled in bond scene is Jaywalk Rye from New York Distilling Co. Included among Jaywalk’s flagship whiskeys, this 7 year old bottled in bond rye is a blend of six to nine barrels in each batch. Bonded production is small for Jaywalk, as it has only one bonded warehouse. “Bottled in bond signifies the complete control of production, aging, and blending, and I like that it’s a specific part of American political, social, and business history,” says founder Allen Katz . “It takes a commitment and discipline to adhere to the federal rules and regulations, though the real quality still rests in the acumen of the distiller and blender.”

Two years ago, Jack Daniel released its first bonded whiskeys, Bonded and Triple Mash. Bonded—which notably took the No.-1 spot on our 2022 Top 20 list—uses the same mashbill as Old No. 7 but ramps up the proof, while Triple Mash is a blend of three bottled in bond whiskeys: 60% rye, 20% Tennessee, and 20% American malt. Since then, the distillery has also released a bottled in bond rye; all three whiskeys are now permanent members of the Jack family. Before the Bonded series was unveiled, master distiller Chris Fletcher says it was referred to as Project Bold. “The big focus for us was to select whiskeys coming from the barrel that were darker in color, which speaks to more extraction of the barrel into the spirit,” he explains. “The bottled in bond whiskeys are going to be more oak-forward, with elevated notes of caramel, butterscotch, and brown sugar, and they’re more tannic and tobacco-led as well.” The distillery has 97 warehouses in total, all of which are bonded, though its bonded whiskeys represent but a small fraction of what it makes overall.

Why It Matters Today

Jack’s neighbor, Cascade Hollow, has dabbled in bottled in bond for a bit longer, coming out with George Dickel 13 year old Bottled in Bond (Distilled in Fall 2005) in 2019 (that whiskey took the top spot on our Top 20 list that year). General manager and distiller Nicole Austin remarks that bottled in bond represents the clearest statement of quality to consumers. “Issues around authenticity, source, and honesty are still relevant today,” she says. “Quality control is still very much an issue, although I agree that the risks of actual fraud or tampering are much lower in the modern era.”

Austin makes a great point—sure, today’s whiskey landscape is a far safer bet than it was in the 1800s, when having a dram meant you might also run the risk of ingesting kerosene or tobacco. That said, even though BIB is no longer the only quality assurance that one can expect from a distillery, it still represents a commitment to transparency. “The lack of transparency in American whiskey today is shocking,” remarks Fletcher. “Something that we take for granted at Jack Daniel is we make all of our own whiskey, and there’s not one drop that leaves here without the Jack Daniel’s name on it, period. For others, there’s some advantage you can take with labeling laws; you don’t have to disclose where spirits are distilled, and there’s a lot of opportunity to mislead.”

Lubbers echoes these sentiments. “Even though we’ve got much better quality control, and much better monitoring from start to finish, bottled in bond still has that cachet; it basically screams, ‘We’re paying attention, and we’re going the extra multiple steps to make sure this whiskey is top notch,” he says. “Bottled in bond highlights that we care about what’s in the bottle.” If you’re wanting to know every detail about your whiskey of choice, there’s no better place to start than bottled in bond.

The Basics of Bottled in Bond

The Bottled in Bond Act was introduced by John G. Carlisle, a Kentucky native and Secretary of the Treasury under president Grover Cleveland. It gave distillers a tax incentive to keep their whiskey pure—bottling whiskeys in bond ensured that distilleries could hold off on paying excise tax until the whiskey was at least 4 years old, as opposed to paying them up front for unbonded new make.

Central to the Bottled in Bond Act are these rules:

• The whiskey must be produced at the same distillery by the same distiller within the same distilling season [of which there are two, Spring and Fall, taking place from January 1-June 30 and July 1- December 31 respectively]

• It must be aged for at least 4 years in wood containers, in a federally bonded warehouse

• It must be unaltered from its original condition or character by the addition or subtraction of any substance other than by filtration, chill or otherwise, or other physical treatments (which do not involve the addition of any substance that will remain in the finished product)

• It must be bottled at exactly 100 proof [this is for tax purposes; 100 proof is equivalent to 1 proof gallon, and taxes are measured by that amount]

• The label must identify the distillery that made it; if the bottling location is different than the distillery, that must be stated

• Only water may be added, no additional colorants or flavors

UK vs U.S.

The Irish and Scots also have bonded whiskies, though they’re quite different from ours. In Scotland, whiskies must age in bonded warehouses prior to being bottled; while they can stay under bond after they’re bottled, they are free of that designation once the duty is paid, making the term “bonded” exclusively related to taxation.

In Ireland, bonded whiskeys are simply those from independent bottlers. Whiskey bonders buy whiskey directly from distilleries, then barrel and bottle it under their own label. Bonded Irish whiskey can blend single malt, single grain, and/or single pot still whiskeys together, giving bonders more freedom than their distiller counterparts.

Bottled in Bond Whiskeys to Try

97 Jack Daniel’s Bonded Tennessee whiskey, $30

Dried herbs, cherry, banana, brown sugar, and well-integrated oak, accented by peppery spice

95 George Dickel 11 year old (Distilled in Fall 2008) Tennessee whiskey, $40

Cocoa powder, Raisinets, roasted walnuts, maple syrup, mint, and chewy oak

93 Old Overholt rye, $25

Christmas spice cake, cinnamon, apple, toasted grain, berry fruit, and allspice

93 Old Fitzgerald 8 year old (Fall 2023 Release) bourbon, $110

Pine sap, maplewood, crushed dried leaves, spearmint, vanilla ice cream, and warming toffee

92 Still Austin Blue Corn bourbon, $80

Cherry tart, chocolate-covered Bing cherry, unsweetened espresso, chocolate mousse, and red berries

92 Heaven Hill 7 year old bourbon, $40

Honey-roasted peanuts, caramel, chocolate, corn muffins, licorice, and cinnamon, with an earthy undertone

91 Old Dominick 5 year old (Fall 2017 Vintage) bourbon, $80

Cherries, pomegranate, milk chocolate, raspberry linzer cookie, mocha latte, toasted nuts, and cacao

91 Redwood Empire Rocket Top 5 year old (Batch 003) rye, $80

Pancakes, maple syrup, clove, brown sugar, milk chocolate, red fruit, oak, and earthiness

91 Rossville Union 6 year old (2023) rye, $50

Apricot, fresh orange slices, banana bread, cinnamon spice, double chocolate brownie, and baked apples

90 Ben Holladay 6 year old bourbon, $60

Spicy, green herbs, black pepper, basil, thyme, candied fruit, cinnamon, semi-sweet chocolate, wood