A few weeks ago I wrote about the Whiskey Barons collection, a special release by Campari America, and reviewed Old Ripy. Today I’m giving you the lowdown on Bond & Lillard, also released in the collection.
Bond & Lillard was a trusted name in pre-prohibition whiskey industry. It was first distilled by John Bond, a veteran of the revolutionary war. He left the company to his son and grandson, David and William. David would go on to form a partnership with his brother-in-law C.C. Lillard in 1869, and they began labeling the product Bond & Lillard. The bourbon was so revered it won the grand prize at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Using the tasting notes the judges wrote down at the World’s Fair and historic notes, Wild Turkey created today’s bourbon.
This is another 375ml offering in a unique round bottle. Again, classic graphics with the look of an old label. The label has statements on it such as, “It Bears no Equal” and “Real Delicacy of Flavor.” The top of the bottle says, “Judgment & Integrity.” As I have said many times in the past, I love good packaging. They have done a nice job on this Bond & Lillard bottles shape and graphics.
The bourbon is a golden color, about the same color as Old Ripy. I would have thought it would be lighter being a younger bourbon. It has a fruity, spice and vanilla nose to it. It also has a fruity and spice taste. For a higher proof whiskey this one does not have the sting or bite you would expect. It has a pleasant finish and leaves fruit on the tongue with a hint of spice.
I like having a diverse and deep bench on my bar cart. This is a bourbon I have added to it and suggest you do the same. Bond & Lillard has an impressive look and equally impressive taste. At $49.95 it is an affordable, out of the ordinary, bourbon to have when you want to get off the beaten path of the Bourbon Trail bourbons. Try a bottle and send me your thoughts.
Aged: Minimum 7 years
Proof: 100 proof
Color: Gold
Aroma: Apricot, spice, stone fruit
Taste: Caramel, fruit, nuts
Price: $45.99 at Hi-Time Wine Cellars
This post was sponsored by Campari America, who was generous to send me a bottle to try! Opinions are my own.
Bourbon Bill 
Just FYI…John Bond was not a veteran of the Revolutionary War. His father, the first WF Bond in Kentucky, was the veteran who emigrated from Hanover County, Virginia, in the early 1780’s to what is now known as Anderson County, Kentucky, due to being awarded a land grant for his service in the Revolutionary War. One of his sons, John Bond, was born in 1791 and died in 1842. He started the distillery that produced the whiskey that eventually became known as the world renowned Bond and Lillard brand, and was one of the earliest commercial distillers in Anderson County, Kentucky. He began distilling whiskey in 1820. Upon his death in 1842, several of his sons continued and grew the family distilling business. David, the eldest son of John Bond, died in 1869. It was at this time that his brother, WF Bond (grandson of the original), brought in his brother in law, Christopher Columbus (CC) Lillard, as partner in the Bond whiskey distilling business. They grew the company to achieve international success and notoriety. After the death of his wife, Susan Mary Hanks Bond in 1894, and the death of his partner, CC Lillard, in 1896, the Bond and Lillard Distillery was sold by WF to the Stoll Company in Lexington, who continued to produce bourbon under the Bond and Lillard name.
How do I know this? John Bond was my great, great, great grandfather. I am a seventh generation direct descendant of the first William F Bond to settle in Anderson County, Kentucky. Incidentally, this same William F. Bond, the first, is also a direct ancestor of Julian Bond, the famed recently deceased civil rights leader who became head of the NAACP. William F. Bond (the first) had a grandson, the Reverend Preston Bond, who fathered two male children with his wife’s slave…the ancestors of Julian Bond. And now you know the rest of the story 😉
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