A Few Thoughts On Bottled-In-Bond Whiskey

I first started singing the praises of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 when I gave my first Bourbon history talk in 1993. Back then, people were barely interested in Bourbon, let alone bonded Bourbon. It was considered a dying category of whiskey. Since that time, Bottled-in-Bond whiskey has been making a comeback. I thought I would write a few words about this rebirth of bonded whiskey.

The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 was created to set straight whiskey above rectified whiskey in the market. Rectifiers were creating cheap whiskey made with neutral spirits and selling it as “Bourbon” at a lower price than the straight whiskey distillers could make it. They had the Bottled-in-Bond Act passed as a quality control measure. The tax stamp ensured that the distiller and age of the product was known to the consumer. It worked for about 75 years and then deregulation under the Reagan administration did away with the tax stamp and it became unclear as to what was bonded whiskey. Whiskey sales were dropping every year at this time and the industry was happy to do away with tax stamps and the costs they added to bottling spirits. Bonded whiskey sales were shrinking even faster than other whiskeys because the 100 proof also meant a higher price than 86 or 80 proof versions of the brand.

The rebirth of bonded whiskey started with the growing sales of whiskey. Jim Beam hired Bernie Lubbers as brand ambassador in the 1990s and he took a liking to bonded Beam and Old Grand Dad and started promoting bonded whiskeys. As he travelled the country as brand ambassador, he spread the word about Bottled-in-Bond whiskeys and people began to listen.

In the 21st century, there began a growth of artisan distilleries. At first, many were selling sourced whiskey as their brands and some of them were less than honest about the origin of their products. This created an air of distrust about many new distilleries and their whiskeys. To combat this distrust, when the distilleries had four year old whiskey, some began to bottle their whiskeys as “Bottled-in-Bond” to show that they did indeed make their own whiskey. Bonded whiskey was again growing as a category – almost for the same reasons as the Act was created one hundred years earlier. They did not have the required tax stamp of the earlier century, so many distillers started putting the information either on their own “tax stamp” seal across the cork, or they placed the information on the label.

As the Bourbon and Whiskey market grew, so did Bonded whiskey sales. The big companies paid attention to this growth and many started releasing special labels that touted the fact that the whiskey was Bottled-in-Bond whiskey. Companies that had discontinued their bonded versions of their brand in the 1990s like Brown-Forman’s Old Forester, brought back special labels like Old Forester 1897 which celebrates the Bottled-in-Bond Act. Buffalo Trace created special bottles of E.H. Taylor, Jr. Bourbon and Rye to celebrate his role in getting the Act passed in 1897. Even brands like George Dickel and Jack Daniel Old No. 7 have released bonded versions of their whiskey even though historically, they were never bonded whiskeys.

The Bottled-in-Bond Act is now 127 years old as of March 3, 2024. It has been through some tough times at the end of the 20th century, but I think it shows the strength and importance of the act that it is once again growing as a category. I almost wish I would be around in 2097 to see if this growth lasts and what will happen to bonded whiskey.