Cass Anderson
- March 3rd is the 125th Bottled in Bond Day, the day that commemorates the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897
- Country Music superstar Chris Stapleton has partnered with Buffalo Trace Distillery to release a ‘unicorn’ E. H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel bourbon
- The public won’t be able to purchase this release outright but a select number of bottles will be auctioned off through Chris Stapleton’s Outlaw State of Kind charity
- Read more stories about BOURBON right here
March 3rd, 2022 marks the 125th Bottled in Bond Day so I’d like to be the first to wish a very merry BiB Day to all who celebrate! To commemorate this momentous occasion, Buffalo Trace Distillery has partnered with Country Music superstar Chris Stapleton and his Outlaw State of Kind charity on a ‘unicorn’ release.
This exquisite bourbon be available for purchase by the public but we have details on how you can secure a bottle (and more) through Stapleton’s charity, and a rundown of what ‘Bottled in Bond’ even means.
This year’s collaboration is a 12-year E.H. Taylor, Jr Bottled in Bond Single Barrel that went into the barrels on June 3, 2009 and was bottled in mid-February. So the true age is a bit older than 12-years. And as the Bottled in Bond namesake requires, it is bottled at 100-proof.
Chris Stapleton, E.H. Taylor Jr. Bottled in Bond Single Barrel, and Outlaw State of Kind
Cass Anderson
This is the second year in a row that Chris Stapleton partnered with Buffalo Trace Distillery for a ‘unicorn’ E.H. Taylor Jr. Bottled in Bond Single Barrel where a handful of bottles are auctioned off through his Outlaw State of Kind charity. The 124th Bottled in Bond Day release (last year) drew so much interest to the Outlaw State of Kind charity the limited number of bottles were auctioning for tens of thousands of dollars.
These bottles are not available to the public. They send out a very limited number of bottles to friends and family of the Buffalo Trace Distillery and yours truly was fortunate enough to be on that list, hence the photographs you see throughout this article of the 125th Bottled in Bond Day 12-year E.H. Taylor, Jr Bottled in Bond Single Barrel next to my pool.
The Outlaw State of Kind charity auction is being hosted by CharityBuzz and there are currently two auction sets (each valued at $5,000). Last year’s Outlaw State of Kind charity auction was incredibly successful but they’re raising the stakes this year and the auction items include more than the bourbon. The first auction item includes (live link to the charity auction here):
- One (1) “Bottled in Bond Day” 125th Anniversary E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Bourbon (750 ml), signed by Chris Stapleton.
- Four (4) Tickets to Chris Stapleton’s A Concert For Kentucky show featuring special guests Willie Nelson & Family, Sheryl Crow, and Yola at Lexington’s Kroger Field on Saturday, April 23rd
- A VIP Tour & Tasting Experience for Four (4) at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY
The second auction item includes (live link to the charity auction here):
- One (1) “Bottled in Bond Day” 125th Anniversary E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Bourbon (750 ml), signed by Chris Stapleton.
- Two (2) Tickets to a Chris Stapleton show of your choice. For a list of full dates on the 2022 All American Road Show, visit ChrisStapleton.com/tour.
- E.H. Taylor, Jr. branded merchandise gift package
It will be interesting to see how much those bids go up by happy hour on Friday considering the bids on last year’s auction were over $17,000 on the first day. And this year includes personalized experiences at the Buffalo Trace Distillery and tickets to actually see Chris Stapleton!
E.H. Taylor Jr. and the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897
E.H. Taylor
I will try my best to distill this down as much as possible so you’ll walk away from this article able to explain what ‘Bottled in Bond’ means to a fellow bourbon drinker who might not know. The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 essentially created the set of legal regulations that must be followed in order for a bourbon to be labeled as ‘Bottled in Bond’.
This was primarily done to ensure American whiskey didn’t include anything that shouldn’t be in whiskey (chemicals, additives, etc). Because in the Wild West, saloon operators were filling half-empty whiskey bottles with god knows what. Everything from tainted water flavored with tobacco and iodine to potentially harmful poisons.
The man behind all of this was Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. (the founder of Old Taylor bourbon) who partnered up with the Secretary of the Treasury to create the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. This would provide tax incentives in order to get American whiskey distilleries to participate. With the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, distilleries would then be able to delay paying any excise tax on the whiskey until the liquid was done aging in barrels.
So the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 passes. Ever since then, there is a set of criteria that a whiskey must meet if ‘Bottled in Bond’ is to appear on the label. These include:
- It must be the product of one distillation season (January–June or July–December)
- It must be the product of one distillery
- It must be the product of one distiller
- It must be bottled at 100-proof
- It must be aged for at least four years at a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. government supervision.
One season, one distillery, one distiller, 100-proof, (at least) 4 years under proper supervision. Simple enough to remember, right? If you’re confused, go back and read it again and you’ll thank me later.
What’s In This Special E. H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Bottle?
Cass Anderson
E.H. Taylor
Now that we’ve run through that quick history lesson, let’s talk about this incredible E. H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel 125th Bottled in Bond Day commemorative edition release. This ‘unicorn’ E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel 124th Bottled in Bond Day commemorative edition is a 12-year-old Bourbon that went into the barrel on June 3, 2009 and was bottled in mid-February and is Bottled in Bond at 100-proof.
The canister and bottle each have a unique and commemorative sticker to mark the 125th Bottled in Bond Day that also specifies it was ‘Selected by Chris Stapleton’.
Why Chris Stapleton? Well, he’s been in love with E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel since his first sip which is something everyone whose had E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel can relate to. Here’s what Chris Stapleton had to say about this year’s Single Barrel pick:
“The first glass of E.H. Taylor, Jr. I ever had was in the studio. Vance Powell, engineer of both music and good times, brought a bottle to the session for inspiration. That week we recorded an entire album, and that album was ‘Traveller.’ We’ve made it a point to keep a bottle around ever since. We’re proud to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Bottled in Bond Day with this special Single Barrel bottling. All proceeds raised by these bottles will benefit Outlaw State of Kind, our charitable fund that is dedicated to giving back to the people and communities that continue to play a vital role in our journey.”
Does Anything Else Come With The E.H. Taylor, Jr. x Chris Stapleton Single Barrel Release?
You can find a full rundown of each auction item on Charity Buzz’s website where the auction items are listed. They note that the Buffalo Trace Distillery tour will last 2 hours and that can be scheduled for either the Friday afternoon or Saturday morning of the Chris Stapleton concert weekend. Those details can be worked out directly between whoever has the winning bid and Buffalo Trace Distillery. It should go without saying but I’ll say it anyway, winners must be 21 years of age or older.
These auction items will be available to bid on for the next fifteen days. The E.H. Taylor, Jr. x Chris Stapleton Single Barrel Release auctions end on March 17 at 3:20 PM EST.
If you are interested in reading about last year’s collaboration between Chris Stapleton and the Buffalo Trace Distillery on an E.H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel for the 124th Bottled in Bond Day you can find my article about that here.