In Fred Minnick’s latest video (below), he pays tribute to the Bottle in Bond Act of 1897, which was signed on this date, 126 years ago.

In the video, Fred discusses the significance of the Bottled in Bond Act and how E.H. Taylor played a major role in making sure it passed. Plus, there’s a new discovery to Taylor’s personal life – he apparently had a girlfriend! Buffalo Trace revealed love letters between them.

Most importantly, what does Bottled in Bond mean? Why is it significant, and how did it change the direction of the bourbon industry? And how is it different today than when the Act was signed into law?

Some of the tenets of the Bottled in Bond Act include that the bourbon within a Bottled in Bond whiskey bottle must come from a single distilling season; it has to be 100 proof, and it has to be at least four years old. Fred covers it all in this 15-minute video.

You can read the law in its entirety here.

For more on the Bottled in Bond Act, Fred’s book Bourbon: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American Spirit, covers in great detail the BIB Act: https://www.amazon.com/Bourbon-Rise-Rebirth-American-Whiskey/dp/0760351724/.