BONDSMEN CLUB
In 1868, the federal government introduced the concept of bonding, allowing distilleries to pay taxes on bourbon the year it was sold rather than the year it was produced. This intent was to alleviate the cash flow burden created by paying taxes up front. However, the measure prompted unscrupulous individuals to slowly remove untaxed bourbon from the rickhouses where the bourbon was being aged. In an effort to curb its loss of revenue, the government hired a fleet of bondsmen. It was a bondsmen’s job to stand guard and act as a gatekeeper to the locked rickhouses day and night. Although the practice has long been abandoned, many small wooden house structures can still be seen dotting the perimeters of Kentucky rickhouses today.