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Bottled in Bond has been a growing part of the American Whiskey market for big distillers and craft outfits alike, and now the biggest whiskey brand in the U.S., Jack Daniel’s, has joined in.
An early example of the food and drug purity aspect of the Progressive era, the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was lobbied for by big distillers as a means of protecting their brand identity from inferior, adulterated products. It created the Bottled in Bond category, which required a whiskey be distilled at a single distillery in a single season; aged at a government supervised warehouse; aged for four years; and bottled at 100 proof.
“Whiskey-making in the 1800’s too often produced a hodge podge of sub-par, counterfeit and even dangerous spirits. Whiskey drinkers at times weren’t sure of what exactly they were drinking or being served,” said Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett. “To bring a high level of safety and consistency to American whiskies, the United States Congress passed the Bottled in Bond Act which certified the quality of whiskey carrying that designation. It had to be aged at least four years and bottled at 100 proof at one distillery during a single season. The Bottled in Bond Act was passed in 1897. Mr. Jack began putting his Tennessee Whiskey in the now familiar square bottle two years earlier in 1895. This new offering replicates those rules that were set more than 120 years ago.”
Bottled in Bond has been growing in popularity in recent years, as more and more staple expressions of American Whiskey have lost their age statements. Even so, it is more often seen in bourbon and rye than Tennessee Whiskey. The Jack Daniel’s Bottled in Bond is a travel retail-only release, so it will only be found in duty free shops at airports. That said, it comes in a one-liter bottle at the quite reasonable price of $37.99.
