Bottled in Bond

Definition and Historical Context

Bottled in Bond (English: bottled in bond) is a historic American whiskey category established by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. The category was designed to ensure authenticity and counter counterfeit, low-quality whiskies in a time of unregulated products. The whiskey is labeled bottled in bond when it meets a set of federal requirements and is therefore subject to federal oversight throughout aging.

Requirements and Practice

• Distillery location and season: The whiskey must be distilled at a single distillery in one single distillation season (spring or fall) and may not be a blend from multiple distilleries or seasons.
• Aging: It must be aged for at least four full years in a federally supervised bonded warehouse under government oversight.
• Bottling proof: It is bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV).
• Labeling: The label must indicate the distillery's name and location where the whiskey was distilled and aged, as well as the season and year of distillation; indicate the total age and proof at bottling; and clearly mark that the product is bottled in bond.
• Production criteria: The product must be produced at a single distillery in one season; the entire process takes place in a single bonded warehouse under supervision.

Historical significance and current status

The Bottled in Bond category played a central role in consumer protection by providing a publicly documented trace and increasing the credibility of whiskeys. The act paved the way for standardization of labeling and age statements, and the concept lives on today as a quality mark, particularly for bourbons and other American whiskeys, where producers often highlight the bottled-in-bond process for transparency and traceability.

Notes

• 'Bottle in Bond' refers to a specific federally supervised production process and is often marketed as a quality badge. Check the label to confirm that the product meets Bottled-in-Bond requirements.