BOTTLED IN BOND BOURBON WHISKEY Bottled-in-bond is a designation that was created in 1897 by way of the Bottled in Bond Act. The act's purpose was to protect the integrity and authenticity of aged spirits in America. Because sellers and bootleggers at the time were adulterating moonshine and other non-aged spirits with colorants, flavorings, and occasionally lethal chemicals to falsely market their spirits as legitimate, a spirit marked as bottled-in-bond was essentially guaranteed in its quality.

Allowing distillers to label aged spirits, mostly bourbon and rye, as bottled-in-bond to indicate authenticity came with a set of rules.

The product must follow the following criteria:

➢ The spirit must be produced in a single distillation season by a single distillery (e.g., spring, from January until June; or fall, from July until December.

➢ The spirit must mature in a U.S. bonded warehouse for a minimum of four years.

➢ The aged spirit must be bottled at 50% ABV