Bottling and Bottled-in-Bond

Bottling and Bottled-in-Bond

Whisky education from Whisk(e)y Advent 2025 (2025-12-07). Summary below; full write-up with sources and images: calendar/2025-12-07.qmd.

Until ~1900 spirits were sold from barrels; Old Forester (1871) pioneered the sealed bottle. The Bottled-in-Bond Act guarantees one distillery/distiller/season, >=4 years in a bonded warehouse, exactly 50% ABV, water-only - a mark of quality, akin to beer’s Reinheitsgebot.