Evan Williams White Label - a bottled in bond bourbon.

Evan Williams white label was my first introduction to the world of bottled in bond whisky. I did not know what bottled in bond meant and I thought it was just another marketing gimmick used to trick consumers into buying a product. What really attracted me to the bottle was its bottle design and the fact that it was 100 proof. I was at a point in my whisky drinking journey where I wanted to try some of the higher proof whiskies. I felt I was ready to move on to the next step after spending much time in the 80-90 proof range. So I took the risk and bought a bottle. 

There were other 100 proof whiskies on the shelves but I grabbed this particular bottle because it looked cool. Then I opened it, drank it, read all about the bottle facts and my world changed. 

I expected the whisky to burn my palate knowing it was 100 proof but I was surprised at how much flavour and complexity it had. The alcohol is almost like an after thought when drinking this whisky.  Before I share my tasting notes on this bottle, I would like to share what I found out about Evan Williams and Bottled in Bond whiskies after reading the bottle facts and doing some research. 

Evan Williams is a brand owned by Heaven Hill Brands. Heaven Hill was founded shortly after the repeal of prohibition in the 1930's and has undergone a few name changes through out the years. It has remained a family owned and run company under the Shapira family which is admirable given the trend in recent years for family owned distilleries to be bought by large conglomerates. Heaven Hill distillery probably produces the most diverse portfolio of American whiskies in the world. They have bourbons (Evan Williams), ryes (Rittenhouse), wheat (Bernheim), corn (Mellow Corn) and almost everything in between. Heaven Hill also has a huge portfolio of Bottled in Bond whiskies. They have the Evan Williams white label (bourbon), Henry McKenna single barrel (single barrel bourbon), Mellow Corn (corn whisky), Rittenhouse (rye whisky), and Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond (wheated bourbon). The fact that Heaven Hill produces a lot of bottled in bond whiskies got me interested in knowing what it means. Is the company really going all in on this marketing gimmick or does the phrase "Bottled in Bond" really mean anything?

Bottled in Bond

Let me get this out of the way first: NO THIS IS NOT JUST A MARKETING GIMMICK. After reading up on bottled in bond, I realized that this is not just a marketing gimmick. I was surprised at how strict the rules are for a brand to carry the phrase Bottled in Bond on the label. 

The rules governing the use of the phrase Bottled in Bond dates back to March 3, 1897 when the US congress passed the first Consumer protection legislations in its history - The Bottled in Bond Act. Yes, you read that right, the first Consumer protection law passed by the US congress was a law ensuring the quality of alcoholic products. God bless America. 

So what are the requirements for a whisky to call itself Bottled in Bond? Here are the main requirements.

1. The whisky is a product of one distiller in one distillery.
2. Produced during one distilling season (January to June or July to December).
3. Aged for a minimum of 4 years in federally bonded warehouse.
4. Bottled at 100 proof. 
5. The bottle needs to identify the distillery and the bottling facility either by name or their DSP#. 

As you can see the requirements are very strict. In fact, I believe it has the strictest requirements for any whisky out there. So why impose these requirements? The main reason for the Bottled in Bond act was a way to ensure the quality of the whisky. This act was passed during a time when whisky rectifiers were flooding the market with cheap and unsafe whisky. Distillers like E.H. Taylor lobbied the government to pass this legislation in order for them to force rectifiers out of the market. The intention was to give the public a way to identify which whiskies were safe and pure. Before this act was passed, people did not know which products were real whisky and which ones were counterfeit or rectified. The phrase Bottled in Bond therefore was a certification from the government that the product is pure and safe. This is why it mattered a lot and this is why the act is so important to American whisky. Without the Bottled in Bond act, the public would not have had a way to feel confidence in any of the whiskies they were buying. If the public did not have a way to ascertain which bottle was real whisky and which one was fake, they would have just stopped buying whisky all together. This act therefore forced serious whisky distillers to focus on the quality of their product instead of making short-cuts to make a quick buck. 

You might be asking, why should this matter today? There are more consumer protection laws today than before. There are more food safety regulations today than before. Certainly all the safeguards offered in the Bottled in Bond act are also covered by other existing regulations. So why should distillers care to produce Bottled in Bond whiskies? 

You are right. Not many distilleries care to produce Bottled in Bond whiskies today. Of all the thousands of distilleries out there, not more than 20 of them produce a bottled in bond whisky. Of all the distilleries that produce Bottled in Bond whiskies, Heaven Hill has the most brands that are Bottled in Bond. So, if it is not that important from a regulatory stand point and also not that important from a distillery stand point, what's the point in keeping them? In fact, why would Jack Daniel's, the best selling American whisky in the world with their Old No.7 bother to make a Bottled in Bond whisky if it is not that important? (Jack Daniels recently released a Bottled in Bond whisky). 

I honestly do not have an answer for that because I ask myself the same question. One thing I am certain though is that this Evan Williams white label is very good. Same with the other bottled in bond whiskies I have tried like the Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond, and the Jim Beam Bonded. I guess the Bottled in Bond act was not only about product safety. I guess the strict requirements it imposes on the distiller forces them to produce the best product out there. Unlike regular batched whiskies where you can select whiskies from different batches to get a certain taste profile, for bottled in bond whiskies you can only use whiskies distilled from the same distilling season and they all have to be at least 4 years. Maybe these limitation in the Bottled in Bond act forces the distiller to bring their A game all the time. 

Tasting Notes - Evan Williams White Label

Nose: Classic bourbon nose with deep vanilla, caramel and dark fruits.

Palate: Very little heat with dominant notes of citrus on top of vanilla & black pepper. 

Finish: Medium length. This is where the proof shines though with its warmth. The vanilla and pepper notes becomes subdued in the finish.