5 Of The Top Bottled In Bond Bourbons Available On Shelves Today

Many times these days, folks are consumed by the new, interesting and honestly quite novel whiskeys dropping seemingly daily. Whether it’s a fresh new micro release like Blue Run’s latest Flight Series or something ultra expensive and cool such as Rabbit Hole’s Nevallier old and bold Kentucky bourbon, there’s always something flashy coming to market.

This often overshadows one of the best values in whiskey. Quite the opposite of flashy, straight bourbons aged at least 4 years available for $20-$60 are just sitting on shelves completely overlooked. Of course, we’re referring to Bottled in Bond bourbon.

If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase, no sweat. The Whiskey Raiders team has you covered. Technical details aside, the heart of bottled-in-bond bourbon comprises two concepts: you know who made it, and you know it’s at least 4 years old. There’s a third, unspoken, pillar of bottled in bond whiskeys: they’re typically an insane value. Even better, they’ve been sitting at great prices for years.

Many of these options have climbed just a dollar or two for a bottle since 2015, when I started writing about whiskey. In 2022’s expensive, flashy, glam- and glitter-laden releases, it’s easy to forget the original greats. As a result, here are the best bottled-in-bond bourbons you can actually buy today, and they won’t break the bank.

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond (rb)

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Distilled by Heaven Hill, Evan Williams hasn’t become the monolithic whiskey powerhouse that it is without good reason. Available in the holy trinity of sizes — 750 milliliters, 1 liter and 1.75 liters — Evan Williams is perhaps the best bang-for-buck whiskey on the planet, which earns it the feature spot in this Bottled In Bond roundup.

Available under $30 in the majority of markets, Evan Williams Bottled In Bond delivers a great balance of sweet and spice, blending a great viscosity with cinnamon, vanilla and molasses. It’s shockingly complex for the age and price, and it’s versatile enough to be the star of a neat pour or cocktail alike. Mind the new redesign as well, which adds some updated flair and a saucy green stripe to the new bottles.

Old Grand-Dad Bottled in Bond

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Distilled by Beam, Old Grand-Dad is Jim Beam’s high-rye bourbon mashbill bottling. This is for those like their bourbon on the spicier side, as the higher rye percentage in the mashbill brings bolder, more savory flavor. Typically around $25 and even less in many non-metro markets, Old Grand-Dad Bottled In Bond is one of the best values out there.

As colder weather approaches, Old Grand-Dad is perfect for large batches of holiday Old Fashioned cocktails as the proof and oak punch through other ingredients nicely. It definitely has a nuttier profile, as bourbon from Beam typically does, so if you’re not a lover of that “Beam funk,” you may want to hit up another Bottled in Bond here.

New Riff Bottled in Bond Bourbon

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A self-labeled “New Riff on an old tradition,” New Riff is one of the most competent craft distillers on the market who is leaving its fingerprints all over the whiskey industry. With similar age as the other bottled-in-bond expressions we’ve covered so far, you’re going to pay a few dollars more, but the quality demands it.

New Riff’s Bottled in Bond bourbon put the distillery on the map alongside its booming single-barrel program. New Riff has made great strides in making its Bottled in Bond bourbon available to any market that demands it, and there is hardly a better-performing craft whiskey for the price. Full of toffee, honey, oak and pepper, it’s a complex sip that’s effortless to enjoy neat.

George Dickel Bottled in Bond

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Many people know that Bottled in Bond bourbon has to be at least 4 years old, but many don’t know that truly…there is no ceiling. George Dickel in Tennessee knows it, though, and loves to remind us. As a result, Dickel makes its 13-year-old bottled-in-bond bourbon available to the market, and it’s probably the best deal in town, typically available under $70.

Even despite the extra time in oak, this release is Dickel whiskey through and through, packing loads of fruit, minerality, honey and a touch of caramel on the back palate, with plenty of oak. For about $50, it’s a deal and a half and worth a pickup anytime you see one.

Bonus If You Can Find It: Beam Bonded

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Last but not least is Jim Beam Bonded, a whiskey discontinued in favor of Old Tub. Old Tub is great, but Jim Beam Bonded is available in most markets as low as $11. Even better, it’s objectively great whiskey. When you factor in the combination of value, the contrast it provides to Old Grand-Dad’s spicier profile, and the catchy, historical label, it’s worth a snag – if you can find one.

It’s included as a bonus here because it was discontinued some time back and is now a gem on old store shelves, but you won’t find it in a brand new or shiny big box store most days. You may, however, see Old Tub instead, which is essentially Beam’s replacement in a newer, shinier package that also bears a Limited Edition badge – despite it being released in positively mammoth volumes.

But If You Can’t Find Beam Bonded: Old Tub

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It’s Beam Bonded, but you can actually find it. That said, these are usually in the $19-29 range, depending on your market. It definitely bears updated packaging, and in sampling, it seems to have gotten a slight upgrade as well. Maybe there are some older stocks in the mix, maybe more rye. Either way, whether you have Beam Bond locally still or Old Tub at the ready, it’s worth having one on hand.

So, there you have it. While the title has become a bit overloaded lately with many many more Bottled in Bond whiskeys releasing to market, it’s hard to overlook some of the category’s best entries, especially for budget-conscious drinkers.

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