Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon is among the first craft distilleries to be able to put out a product that can carry the Bottled-In-Bond (Bonded) title. The only other craft distillery currently releasing one is Laws Whiskey House, but according to a TTB filing the Kings County distillery plans to join them sometime soon. Rock Town Distillery in Arkansas did a singular 5th anniversary BiB release, but doesn’t seem to plan on making it a regular thing.
The story behind Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon starts back in 2011 when Tom Herbruck bought the original Michter’s Jug House Pot Stills. These stills carry significance beyond the Michter’s name as they were the first copper pot stills manufactured for whiskey distillation after prohibition. Tom uses these historic pot stills to double distill his open-air, wood cask, fermented mash. He stores that whiskey in full sized barrels in an unheated rack house with the goal of making bourbon in an old style and as naturally as possible.
Enough back story, let’s get on with the Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon review shall we?
Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon Info
Region: Ohio, USA
Distiller: Tom’s Foolery
Mashbill: 72% Corn, 12% Rye, 16% Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak, Finished in Apple Jack
Age: 4 years
ABV: 50%
Price: $50
Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon Review
EYE
Copper
NOSE
Grain heavy aroma layered with notes of cherry candy, apples, cinnamon, toffee, vanilla and a biscuity character that gets sprinkled with light notes of acetone, pears, char and saw dust.
PALATE
Cinnamon, apples and pears, toasted grains, anise, caramel, vanilla, raw corn and orange peels mix with light notes of clove, acetone, saw dust and that biscuity character. This spice driven concoction flows across the palate rather gently.
FINISH
A long spicy finish with tasty twists of caramel, vanilla and a metallic coppery note.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Decent balance, round body and an oily feel.
OVERALL
Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon is an interesting spice driven whiskey that’s a bit unconventional for a bourbon and ends up being quite nice. My first couple sips I wasn’t the biggest fan, but I found myself being drawn to it the more I sipped. No I wasn’t just getting drunk, as I sat and sipped the character of the whisky unfolded and I went from mildly indifferent to enjoying it and the second glass was even better.
I should caveat this by saying that Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon isn’t like most conventional bourbons. Tom’s is a baking spice and grain driven character rather than a dark oak driven character. This grain and spice forward nature puts it at that right intersection of unique and weird that makes me smile. I really like what the folks at Tom’s Foolery are doing and I hope that they keep doing it. This is a bourbon that’s definitely worth at least getting a taste of.
SCORE: 85/100 (B)
Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon Review - Score Breakdown
Summary
Tom’s Foolery Bonded Bourbon is worth at least a taste so find a way to get one!
Overall
- Nose - 86
- Palate - 87
- Finish - 84
- Balance, Body & Feel - 84
Right now I’m drinking Tom Foolery Bourbon single barrel#182 bottle#3, 49.5% alc/vol. It is cask strength. I think it’s excellent. What’s your opinion?
I haven’t had a CS version, but if it’s anything like the BiB then it’s probably awesome! Cheers!
Josh,
I believe I read somewhere that Tom’s Foolery has purchased a used cognac or brandy still to continue to distill whiskey.
As far as this Woodstone Creek stuff goes . . . No thanks. E tantrums are not likely to make me buy a product.
I read something along those same lines. I think he’s moving to another “vintage” cognac still. Will be interesting to see how the quality stands up.
Right? E tantrums like this don’t exactly give anyone who reads it a good impression. They need some PR advice.
Cheers!
Since you probably don’t know what an enrolled agent is . . . it’s a c-r-e-d-e-n-t-i-a-l. “Credentials” mean others think you’re as much of an expert to them as you are in your own mind. “1. Recognition by licensure, certification, or award of a degree in a field in which a person has met certain educational, professional, or occupational requirements. 2. Evidence or testimonial, usually written, of such licensure, certification, or award of a degree.”
Oh I know what it is, and I also know that it doesn’t exist within the world of blogging, I was being facetious because you’re a loon. Are you a credentialed commentor? Do you have an award for your brilliant commenting? And speaking of awards, those can be bought so I never put too much stock in them. Just look at last year’s Best Whisky In The World the Northern Harvest Rye.
You’re just pissed because I didn’t like your whiskey and I expressed my opinion. If I had given your whiskey an A+ rating you would have been falling all over your self to tweet out the review and use it as proof that you make good whiskey. If I have loved it you wouldn’t be sitting here throwing a temper-tantrum about credentials and “ugly little samples” you’d be praising my good judgement and writing and saying you love the blog. So unless you you can point me to where you’ve had this exact same tirade to someone who gave it a positive review vs a bad review I can’t take anything you say seriously. And even then…
Remind me to never buy whatever “Woodstone Creek” is selling.
You really shouldn’t. To get the full DL on the story behind this crazy pants rant check out this. https://thewhiskeyjug.com/bourbon-whiskey/woodstone-creek-bourbon-review/
“Bottled in Bond” is not TTB mandatory copy. Absence of the statement doesn’t necessarily mean a product is not bottled in bond. Our distillery has never done otherwise, since inception in 1999, but the statement has never appeared on any of our labels. Some craft producers might use it to point out they’re not rectifying, but, since TTB isn’t in the business of verifying any label claims, it can also be misused. Our distiller is an enrolled agent, certified to practice before TTB. Don’t bother to attack, Josh.
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I never said Bottled in Bond was a TTB mandatory, but unless you’re putting out 4 year old whiskey, among all of the other requirements, you can’t call yours BiB. And I’ve never attacked you, I’ve just stated my opinion on your whiskey and now you’re running around my site acting like a lunatic. You’re the attacker in this scenario.
Didn’t Tom sell the stills to the company that took over the Michter’s name?
If so, then seems he won’t have that many more whiskies to release made on those historic stills.
That’s a good question, I don’t know. It still mentions these stills on their site. Nothing about selling them. He might have, I’ll have to check into that. Cheers!
Tom definitely sold those stills awhile back to Michter’s (around mid 2015), so the bourbon you are reviewed may or may not have been made on those old stills
Good to know. Cheers!