// Designation · Bourbon / Rye
Bottled-in-Bond
A federally regulated designation; single distiller, single season, aged at least 4 years, bottled at exactly 100 proof; layered on top of an underlying recipe rather than describing one of its own.
At a Glance
- Category
- Bourbon, Rye
- Flavor Direction
- Oak & Wood, Sweet & Dessert-Like, Spice
What Makes It Different?
- Bottled-in-Bond is defined by the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897: the whiskey must come from a single distiller at a single distillery in a single distillation season (January–June or July–December), be aged at least 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse, and be bottled at exactly 100 proof (50% ABV).
- It is a legal designation about provenance, age, and bottling strength; not a mash bill or flavor profile of its own. A Bottled-in-Bond release can be a traditional, wheated, or high-rye bourbon (or a rye whiskey), and its flavor follows from that underlying recipe more than from the bonding itself.
Because Bottled-in-Bond describes production and aging rules rather than a grain recipe, two Bottled-in-Bond releases from different mash bills can taste quite different from one another; treat the characteristics below as typical of a straight whiskey aged at least 4 years and bottled at 100 proof, not a guarantee tied to the designation itself.
Flavor Profile
Production
Governed by the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 (27 CFR § 5.42): single distiller, single distillery, single distillation season, aged at least 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse, bottled at exactly 100 proof. This site's own catalog records one proof designation per bottle, so a real-world Bottled-in-Bond release that also happens to be barrel-proof-labeled may only surface here under one of the two designations -- see How to Read a Label and the Proof & Dilution Calculator for how a fixed 100-proof requirement compares to standard and barrel-proof bottling.
Explore Bottles
44 real bottles in our Distillery Directory carry this exact designation.
Try It Yourself
Trying a bottled-in-bond? Use the Guided Tasting experience to walk through aroma, palate, and finish while it's actually in the glass -- a more useful way to learn what this style tends toward than reading about it alone.