What is the best bottled-in-bond bourbon that you can get your hands on? Well, we’ve put together a list of bottles at MSRP, some of which seem to be becoming more widely available.
Bottled-in-bond bourbon is simpler to explain than it might seem. The whiskey must be distilled at one distillery during a single distilling season, aged for at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV). It’s an incredible marker of quality, no matter how big or small the distillery is.
We won’t be diving too deeply into distillery origins and production styles, but we will be breaking down the tasting notes of these bottles. Some are available at extremely competitive prices, but the flavors can be very different.
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Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond, $18 / £36
I would say that this is an underrated bourbon that you should try in general, let alone the fact that it’s a bottled-in-bond product at an extremely good price.
This bottle is a welcoming burst of sweet caramel and vanilla. There’s lots of corn on the palate, along with baked vanilla, cherries, gentle spice, and some really toasty oak notes that round things out toward the finish. It’s an excellent example of bottled-in-bond bourbon.
The finish is long and full-flavored, with more oak, soft fruits, and some very gentle rye spice that helps make it feel even longer and more layered. When it comes to value from a big brand, you could easily argue that this is the best bottled-in-bond bourbon on the market. We do have plenty more options to look at, though!
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READ THE STORYEarly Times Bottled-in-Bond, $17 / £16
A bottle that we’ve all seen at a low price, no matter what country you’re in. This isn’t a bourbon that is going to blow your mind in terms of flavor, but it’s such a solid bottle that does more than it should for the price.
The nose is all orange, caramel, and honey. It’s a relatively light start to a bottle with plenty of texture and flavor on the palate. There’s lots of rich caramel, citrus, and vanilla, moving into some very light tobacco notes. It’s a creamy style of bourbon that delivers many of the characteristics we love bourbon for.
The finish is decent, with some light, peppery rye spice that also helps develop that tobacco note. For under $30 a bottle, this is very good bourbon. Some would argue it’s the best bottled-in-bond bourbon for the money.
Old Grand-Dad Bonded, $25 / £20
Time for some big rye! Old Grand-Dad is a product of the Beam distillery and one that has a serious cult following.
With a 27% rye content, we’re getting into territory that can divide bourbon drinkers simply because of the intensity of those peppery, earthy rye notes. However, the nose lures you in. It’s full of orange peel, peanuts, caramel, cinnamon, and lots of honeycomb.
The rye pops more on the palate, arriving in the form of cinnamon, nutmeg, and some mint before moving into a more classic bourbon profile. There are plenty of red and dark fruit notes, including cherry, red currant, and strawberry sauce, as well as a lovely floral honey note running throughout.
The finish is long and driven by that rye pepper, with the 100 proof pushing things even further. It’s a sip that lasts for ages on the palate. This would certainly be my pick for the best bottled-in-bond bourbon on the list.
1792 Bottled-in-Bond, $37 / £40
The fancy option now, well, in terms of how the bottle looks, anyway. 1792 has a very impressive and affordable range across the board, and this bottled-in-bond version occupies an interesting spot.
It’s roughly double the price of the first three bottles on the list, but you do gain more complexity for that higher price. Bottled-in-bond bourbon can offer great value, but more expensive options are still worth considering. Does the extra expense make this one of the best bottled-in-bond bourbons?
The nose is all butterscotch, sticky toffee pudding, and fruity espresso. The fruit qualities of this bourbon are really impressive, with stone fruits, blackberries, cherry, and apricot. The palate is creamy, thick, and full of fresh oak, more fruit, toffee, and those Christmas-style spices of mace, nutmeg, and cloves.
The finish rolls through with lots of orange oil and soft, approachable rye, alongside more coffee, raisins, and dark chocolate.
It’s a really impressive bottle of bourbon that we should all dive into when we can.
Heaven Hill 7 Year Old Bottled-in-Bond, $50 / £64
Another Heaven Hill product lands on the list, but now at more than double the price of the first bottle mentioned. How much more do you get for the extra money?
This bottle goes well beyond the minimum aging requirement for bottled-in-bond, and you can tell from the nose. It’s like a dessert trolley being rolled past you as you sip on bourbon. There’s sweet cream, vanilla, barrel spice, flambéed cherries, orange jelly, sweet fruit jams, and melted chocolate, with something malty and crisp underneath.
I wouldn’t say that this is a hugely complex or out-of-the-ordinary bottled-in-bond release, but it has more layers than the cheaper bottlings. The butterscotch notes are particularly impressive, while those older barrel notes make everything feel more rounded and mature.
Angel’s Envy Bottled-in-Bond, $60 / £130
A bottle that sticks to its guns when it comes to cask maturation. This is essentially classic Angel’s Envy with its port cask finish, but now with bottled-in-bond status attached.
The nose is clean and light, with banana, light brown sugar, and lots of different types of cookies, including plenty of chocolate chip notes. The palate is more classic in style, but full of raw honey, strawberry syrup, sweet coffee, and freshly charred oak.
The finish is sweet and rounded. I’d say it’s the sweetest of all the bottled-in-bond offerings we’ve put on this list. That doesn’t make it bad, but Angel’s Envy has always cut its own groove in the world of bourbon, and this bottled-in-bond release is no different.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch Bottled-in-Bond, $54 / £66
The bottle that will probably cause the most debate. Given the demand for other bottles in the Taylor range, though, this one is often seen as the entry point.
Made using Buffalo Trace’s Mash Bill #1, this is a bourbon with a spicy, tropical fruit-driven profile. Naturally, given that E.H. Taylor was a champion of the Bottled-in-Bond Act, it would be a little silly not to include the product named after him.
The nose is all pineapple and BBQ grill aromas. I get little touches of chili pepper, melon, softly toasted oak, and lots of caramel. It’s a bottle that commands a strong reputation, and its distinctive presentation certainly helps it stand out. It’s a really good bourbon, but I’d be hard-pressed to buy this over some of the other bottles on the list.
So, What To Pick?
As with any category of whiskey, start at the bottom. I think we all need to revisit bottles like these every few years to see what most of the world is actually buying, as well as what the industry we love is built on.
You’d be hard-pressed to beat some of the options in the $20 range, but if you want to spend more, you can gain extra flavor, complexity, and a little more presentation.
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