By: Renita Reavis
Wandering the numerous bottles in the American whiskey aisles of any whiskey store can be overwhelming, with label graphics and words that catch the eye and grab your attention. One of the boldest typefaces and words out there is “Bottle-In-Bond”. Whiskey menus will shorten it to “BiB”. What does this mean? Why is the whiskey bonded? What makes it special compared with any other offering by the same distillery? Are you just as confused about why this might be important or where it even started?
Many are familiar with, or have read, The Jungle, by American author and journalist Upton Sinclair, published in 1906. The disturbing accounts about the meat industry sparked such an uproar among consumers that action was required. Under public pressure, President Theodore Roosevelt helped broker a deal with Congress that led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. The latter established the Bureau of Chemistry in 1930, which was later renamed the Food and Drug Administration. If you think this is the first time the government has stepped in to ensure that what we consume is safe, you will be shocked to learn that it was not!
The early 1800s saw a range of interesting economic methods to stretch or even produce products for sale. The intermediaries who took barrels of whiskey from distilleries and sold them to various levels of consumers were known as rectifiers. Rectifiers were not always considered the most honest of professionals, diluting known whiskeys with neutral grain spirits (vodka-like distilled spirits) and other ingredients to enhance color and flavor. Popular flavorings included creosote, wintergreen, glycerin, and caramel. Caramel is still permitted in some whiskeys, such as Scotch, and is listed as E150A. The additive is intended to balance color between batches for uniformity and should not affect flavor. Dalmore is a Scotch whisky known for using E150A.
Distilleries went to Washington, D.C., to seek assistance in protecting the whiskey. The first piece of legislation was the bonded warehouse, enacted in response to the Whiskey Ring scandal of 1875 in St. Louis, Missouri, under President Ulysses S. Grant. It established government oversight and regulation of warehouses. The second piece of legislation, enacted in 1987 to protect distillers, was the Bottled in Bond Act, which made the government a guarantor of distilled whiskey.
Now, what is the legal definition of Bottle-in-Bond once the government got involved to protect and define what we are enjoying? All the standard rules of whiskey distillation apply to various expressions, such as bourbon, rye, corn whiskey, and American Single Malt. Let us add the following several rules:
- 1 distillery to make sure the distillery that sells it is the one that made it. This could mean the distillery is based in Kentucky and transports it to Texas for the remainder of the process.
- 1 season (January–June or July–December) to make sure all are the same age; yes, it can be blended on different days and weeks.
- 1 distiller. If the distiller has left the distillery, it is no longer eligible for the Bottle-in-Bond label and must undergo standard date-range labeling.
- Aged at least 4 years in a bonded warehouse. All warehouses are bonded now, so this is simply an age statement.
- 100 proof or 50% Alcohol by Volume (ABV) exactly. Nothing more and nothing less. It was intended to prevent further dilution of the whiskey with disgusting things.
- Nothing added except water to proof it down to the 100 proof or 50% ABV. This means that the flavored whiskey liqueurs or E150A.
The Texas whiskey industry has celebrated reaching 4-year age statements, which seemed like a distant dream over a decade ago. Many distilleries include a Bottle-in-Bond in their core offerings or offer a rare special release. Still Austin Distillery, based in Austin, Texas, has mastered its Bottle-in-Bond program. Still Austin has a cult following, the Order of Nancy, who chase every seasonal Bottle-in-Bond release each year, along with many other notable releases. A trip to the distillery lets you gaze up at the height of Nancy, their column still that reaches the heavens. Order a whiskey flight from their Bottle-in-Bond to experience precisely what changing grains can do when everything else is the same. Do you find red corn, blue corn, bourbon, or rye your favorite? I know I have a challenging time picking one each time, as they are all delightful in their own special ways. Chasing down a bottle of red or blue corn at the store is almost impossible. You can easily find the bourbon and rye bottle-in-bond at any store that carries Still Austin. Each Still Austin offering has a unique label that tells the story of what is in the bottle. Local artists create the art. Marc Burckhardt is the creative genius behind the Bottle-in-Bond series. Prints of the label art are also available for purchase.
The New Fashioned is a riff on the Old Fashioned with ingredients to make you feel like Spring has arrived.
- 2 ounces of Still Austin Bottle-In-Bond bourbon
- ½ ounce of Mint Syrup (Simple syrup with a few mint leaves added to the water before stirring in the sugar.)
- 4 dashes of Chocolate Bitters
- Lemon
- Stir the mint syrup, bitters, and bourbon together until well incorporated.
- Pour over a large ice cube in a rocks glass.
- Express the lemon essence over the glass.
- Enjoy
It is always amazing to see how intertwined whiskey is with United States history. Our tax laws, food and drug safety, agricultural changes, and so much more. To some, it is a simple adult alcoholic beverage. To others, it is not only our personal memories, but the memories of our nation. Raise a glass and thank our fantastic distillers for pushing for safe whiskey for us to drink.
More from the TKG cellar: knowing the law behind the label changes how you drink. For the agricultural building blocks that shape everything in the barrel, Mashbills: The Agricultural Recipe for Whiskey breaks it down from the beginning. Then settle into Be It Resolved: A Whiskey Lover’s New Year for something a little more personal.
