Ben Holladay Bottled in Bond

ABC - $59.99  

TW - $64.99

Class VI - $54.90

ABV - 50%

6YO

Ben Holladay Bottled in Bond

From the ABC website:  This six-year-old, Bottled-in-Bond, Real Missouri Bourbon is crafted with the same mash bill that was developed by Ben Holladay in 1856. This whiskey represents the perfect union of distilling tradition and modern-day production.’

I’ve been on a ‘bottled in bond’ kick lately.  Although I don’t care for Evan Williams black label, I’ve been very happy with Evan Williams Bottled In Bond (BiB).  For a regular ‘table whiskey’ I’d say it’s better than more-expensive bourbons like Jack Daniel’s or even Maker’s Mark.  And so I figured I’d give Ben Holladay a try.  When we see BiB we know right away that it’s 100 proof (50%ABV) and even if there’s no age statement (NAS) we know that it’s at least four years.  There’s a bunch of other things that BiB tells us.  You can find that here.

What’s interesting about Ben Holladay is that it’s a product of Missouri, not Kentucky. The label claims the distillery site has been there since 1856.  BUT!  It doesn’t say that this whiskey was distilled at that distillery.  It could still be sourced from another distillery.  The marketing department can get pretty tricky with their labels.  Ah, but I forgot.  Bottled in Bond means that it was, in fact, distilled there for it to meet one of the BiB requirements.  And when we turn the bottle over we see just below the warning label that tells us that alcohol is bad for us (thanks, Uncle Sam - always looking out for us), it says, “Distilled, Aged, and Bottled by Holladay Distillery, Weston, MOO”.  Good stuff.

As I said last week, the whiskey nerds really like to geek out when it comes to their whiskey.  There is no detail too small for them.  Well, the Holladay Distillery is happy to oblige!  On one side of the label we see that my whiskey was distilled in the spring of 2018 (remember 2018?  Boy, those were good times.  We had no idea what was headed our way). Anyway, it was bottled in November 2024.  It also says that the juice was aged in new, charred, oak barrels - but being an avid consumer of the Whiskey of the Week, you already knew that ‘bourbon’ must be aged that way.  

On the other side of the label we get even more interesting info.  We see the following:  “DSP - MO 5”.  What does DSP mean?  I didn’t know so I went looking for the answer.  Our friends at bourbonveach.com helpfully provided an answer.  A ‘DSP’ is a ‘Distilled Spirits Producer’. Distilleries are registered by the tax district and it appears that Holladay is in the Missouri 5th district.  Huh.  Didn’t know that.  We both learned something.

This isn’t a ‘single barrel’ product so the Holladay master distiller took some juice from several different barrels and combined them to make the bourbon that ended up in my bottle.  We see that all this whiskey came from Rickhouse C (the rickhouse is a specially-designed warehouse that allows the whiskey to age properly).  The label also lays out what percentage of the bottle came from which floor of that rickhouse - two thirds of it from the third floor of a seven-floor building.  

Ben Holladay BiB.  It’s pretty good.  Their website is very interesting and worth visiting.  They have many cocktails to choose from.  With winter firmly upon us, I decided to provide a cocktail that’s perfect if you’re feeling under the weather, a Hot Toddy.  While you’re sipping your hot toddy, why don’t you get on your county government’s website and see what’s going on locally.  Santat!

Hot Toddy

Ingredients

1.5 oz | Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bourbon

0.75 cup | Hot Water

0.75 | Honey-Cinnamon Syrup

0.75 oz | Lemon Juice

How to mix

Add Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bourbon, hot water, honey-cinnamon syrup, and lemon juice into a coffee mug

Stir gently for 10 revolutions

Garnish with a lemon peel and cinnamon stick