Woodford Reserve Bottled In Bond Bourbon Review (Distillery Series)

By Randall H. Borkus

Rating: B+

Woodford Reserve Distillery, a staple on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, has released a Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey as part of their Distillery Only Series. Spoiler: Woodford Reserve really hit the mark here with a delightful whiskey, one that I am sure will continue to be sought out by many of us!

The Bottled-in-Bond Act passed in 1897 as an early measure in the Progressive, food and drug purity era. The law clearly details the bottled-in-bond whiskey requirements for: bottled at 100 proof, distilled at the same distillery by the same Master Distiller in the same distilling season, and aged a minimum of 4 years in a government bonded warehouse under U.S. government supervision.

Each year Woodford Distillery releases a limited edition in its Distillery Series of one-of-a kind creative expressions. Each selection is an experiment of Master Distiller Chris Morris and has very limited availability.

Woodford Reserve has long been one of my all-time favorite “go to” bourbon whiskey choices and an enjoyable premium Bourbon to top off a long day of meetings and travel or a toast with old friends and family.  I have always found Woodford Reserve to be consistent and available wherever I go in the country and downright pleasurable to imbibe.  There has never been a time that a bottle of Woodford Reserve or Double-Oak Woodford Reserve could not be found in my personal bourbon library. So, I was keen to come to grips with a bonded version of Woodford Reserve.

The Bourbon
The Woodford Bottled in Bond’s color is a dark honey-amber, with healthy longing legs clinging to my glass. The nose is pungent, sweet and fruity with hints of over-ripe grapes and sweet grains.

The mouthfeel is the traditional Woodford warm-and-oily experience, with an overriding essence of Romanian acacia honey, followed by hints of baked green apple with a candied sweetness coating and dried fruit experience on the palate. The finish is jam-packed with cinnamon, Carmel sweetness, more dried fruits and lingering oak dryness.

This is a solid whiskey, one that I believe would be well supported if it became an annual fall release we could all look forward to finding. I for one would wait anxiously for the next iteration with great hopes each year.

The Price
The 375ml bottle of Bottled-in-Bond is available in limited quantities at the distillery and in select local Kentucky retailers for $49.99 and as much as $100.00 in the secondary market.