Distillery: Brown-Forman Distillery
Proof: 100
Age: 4 Years
Mashbill: 79% Corn, 11% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Price: $25 for 1L
Company
Brown-Forman is the company behind Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, and Jack Daniel’s (quite the portfolio).
Production
Early Times was created by John Henry Beam (so of Jim’s brother, David) after starting his own distillery in Bardstown. After he passed away in 1915, the brand was eventually acquired by Brown-Foreman—who helped it become the most popular bourbon in America in 1953. Early Times Bottled-in-Bonf was discontinued for many years before it was re-released to limited markets in 2017. Now, production has ramped up.
Nose – 93/100
Delightful with deep caramel, vanilla, and honey with a hint of orange.
Palate – 93/100
Creamy caramel and vanilla with light spice. It’s easy sipping but not too thin at the same time—coming with richness you don’t expect from a cheap bottle.
Finish – 94/100
Easy finish with hints of pepper, vanilla, and light spice. Satisfying for an inexpensive bottle.
Value – 100/100
Early Times Bottled-in-Bond is the best value bottle in bourbon right now. For $25, you get about 30% more bourbon (1L instead of 750ml) than the average bottle and a very enjoyable pour. This isn’t going to be the best thing you’ve ever tasted, but it’s very solid and approachable—making it a complete steal at its price point.
Verdict – 95/100
We score each bourbon based on nose, palate, finish, and value.
Scoring System:
- Platinum – 95+
- Gold – 90 – 94
- Silver – 80 – 89
- Bronze – <80
Hunter Branch is the Founder and Director of Editorial for Bourbon Inspector. He has been writing about and professionally reviewing bourbon since 2020 (and has been drinking it for much longer). He’s been able to interview big names in the bourbon industry like Trey Zoeller from Jefferson’s Bourbon and his work has been featured in publications like TastingTable, Mashed, and more.