What Does "Bottled-In-Bond" Mean?

BOTTLED- IN-BOND

The First Consumer Protection Act

Many who enjoy whiskey are familiar with the little tax strip that sits snugly over the top of bottles which adorn the phrase "bottled-in-bond."

Yet, many have the question burning in the back of their mind, what does "bottled-in-bond" even mean? Well, to understand "what" it is, we also need to understand "why" it was put into place.

Flashback to the late 1800s. The whiskey scene is reaching new demands and producers are looking for the quickest way to cash-in and make a quick buck.

Many fly-by-night whiskey companies were popping up and producing whiskey of questionable quality. Many made pure corn grain spirits and mixed them with nasty additives like tobacco juice to make it appear to be an aged whiskey.

They would also make blatantly false claims like fake age statements, false mash bills, and completely fabricated stories about their non-existent distilleries printed right on the label.

Some of these companies' products would seriously injure or even kill consumers and these companies would close shop and disappear without a trace.

The distilleries and their distillers who were busy actually producing quality whiskey were absolutely distraught.

The production of real quality whiskey is both time-consuming and expensive. However, these fake companies were able to make false claims to make it seem like they had a competing product at a severely reduced price.

Enter E.H. Taylor

Colonel E.H. Taylor (yes, that E.H. Taylor) helped champion a movement in the US political scenes to help snuff out these dangerous companies and to create a clear way for quality companies to market their spirits.

The result of this push was the Bottled-In- Bond act of 1897.

This act was the first real consumer protections act that helped safeguard the American people against deceptive business practices.

According to the act, a very specific set of criteria must be met for a company to be able to utilize the Bottled-In-Bond designation. This communicated to consumers a minimum level of quality that they could depend on, and helped re-build trust with the industry.

The Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897 was the first real consumer protection act.

It allowed consumers to have confidence in bottles that bore this designation, and know the minimum level of quality they could expect from their bottle.

To be "Bottled-In-Bond," a whiskey must adhere to the following criteria:

- Be distilled in a single distilling season by a single distiller at a single distillery.

- Produced in the United States.

- No additives may be included.

- Must be bottled at 100 proof Label must include where distilled and bottled (if different).

- Must be aged in a federally bonded and monitored warehouse for no less than 4- years.