What's Unique About Bottled-In-Bond Whiskey?

There are hundreds of carefully crafted spirit labels out there. One such label is bottled-in-bond, or "bonded," which is a legal measure of quality control for American whiskey.

The bottled-in-bond classification is a hallmark that the distiller and company want to assure you that what you're drinking is what they created — and that it's worth it.

In the late 1800s, high demand and a lack of legal oversight led to distillers cutting the product with inexpensive, clear-grain spirits before selling barrels to bar owners.

Tavern owners would then stretch the barrels with their own additives, including prune juice, kerosene, and tobacco juice, leading Congress to pass the Bottled-in-Bond Act in 1897.

While it applies to any aged spirit, the act really made its mark on whiskey. It ensures the whiskey is made to specific standards by the actual distillery claiming to make it.

The law states that a bottle of bonded, aged spirit must be made solely of the ingredients and spirit type it claims to be and be distilled in one season by one distiller.

It also must be aged at least four years in specific wood containers, free of additives or post-aging tweaks, bottled at 100 proof, and the real distiller must be disclosed.