The whiskey that Fred Minnick called “one of the Best Non-Kentucky Bourbons I’ve ever Tasted” is back just in time for Bottled in Bond Day. 126 years ago on March 3, 1897, the Bottled in Bond Act was signed into law. Today, we’re proud to celebrate this important standard of quality in our industry with our latest release of our Bottled in Bond Four Grain Bourbon, one of our most anticipated releases of the year.

WHAT IS BOURBON?

You may have heard the phrase “All bourbon is whiskey but not all whiskey is bourbon,” but what does that mean exactly?

Whiskey must meet several requirements to be considered a bourbon. To easily remember these requirements, we refer to these as the ABCs of bourbon.

A- AMERICA: All bourbon must be made in America.

Many people believe bourbon must be made in Kentucky, however, there has never been any sort of regional designation to make it so.  In fact, an act of congress in 1964 made bourbon our national spirit. At Laws Whiskey House, we are proud to add to the fabric of American whiskey by producing a unique Colorado bourbon, using heirloom Colorado grains from small family farms and proofing down our whiskey with Colorado water from Eldorado Springs.

B- Brand New Barrel: All bourbon must be aged in new charred oak barrels.

Unlike scotch and many Irish whiskeys, bourbon must be aged in a brand-new barrel.  This means we can never reuse a barrel and call it bourbon.  At Laws Whiskey house we honor some of the oldest bourbon traditions by aging our bourbon in new 53-gallon white American oak barrels with a char number 3. Although we can only use the barrel once to age bourbon, that does not mean these barrels don’t have many lives. Many of our used barrels go off to local breweries to age their barrel aged beer.

C- Corn: All bourbons must be at least 51% corn.

The mash bill for our Laws Four Grain Bourbon is 60% corn, 20% wheat, 10% rye and 10% barley. We favor a four-grain mash bill for the complexity and flavor contribution that each grain makes to the whiskey.

Our corn is grown by Whiskey Sisters Supply in Burlington, Colorado. Their farm is recognized as a Centennial Farm in Colorado, meaning the farm has been in the same family for over one hundred years. They supply the highest quality corn possible for our bourbon, adding sweetness and backbone. Our flavoring grains (wheat, barley, and rye) are grown by the Cody Family Farm in Alamosa, Colorado. The rugged growing conditions of their farm deepen the character of our low yield, high flavor heirloom grains. These grains are what make Laws’ grain forward signature style unique and distinctive.

We are proud to represent Colorado’s unique regionality in our Four Grain Bourbon as we continue our journey reimagining great American Whiskey.

WHAT IS BOTTLED IN BOND?

In 2016, more than 100 years after the Bottled in Bond Act was put into effect, Laws Whiskey House became the first Colorado distillery to release a bourbon meeting the Bottled in Bond criteria.

 “Becoming the first Colorado distillery to release a bonded bourbon was a big achievement back in 2016. Now on our seventh bonded bourbon release, I’m proud to be among an esteemed group of distilleries carrying this standard of quality forward. It’s one of the ways we are adding to the fabric of the American whiskey tradition.” -Al Laws

ABOUT THIS RELEASE

Laws Bonded 8yr Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Batch #7-S & 7-F

Batch #7-F has arrived shortly before batch #7-S due to maturation timing as required by the Bottled in Bond Act. Batch #7-F was distilled in the fall of 2014 and was harvested during February of 2023. This15 barrel batch became 8 years old during the fall of 2022 and has an average maturation time of 8 years and 3 months.

Batch #7-S will be bottled in March 2023 and its 22 barrels will have an average maturation time of 8 years and 2 weeks.

How does it taste? Aromas of apple strudel, orange blossom and rose from both batches. On the palate, notes of cherry vanilla cola, black tea, and walnut lead to a lingering rich and dry finish.

Laws Whiskey House Bonded Four Grain Bourbon is now available in the Laws Whiskey House Tasting Room. It will be available online at lawswhiskeyhouse.com, and through limited national distribution in key markets across the country starting in late March.