Dialogue about whiskey on 'Godless'

[Bobje]

In the Netflix television western series 'Godless,' cowboys and officers of the law step up to the bar and order a 'bonded.' The series is set in the 1880s, and because the Bottled in Bond act wasn't passed until 1897, I'm not sure that the dialogue is accurate. Director/screenwriter Scott Frank talks about his team's extensive research of the way people wrote and spoke in the era (see Frank interview below), so perhaps some whiskey was referred to as 'bonded' at that time, 10 years before the act was passed. Any historians familiar with the reference?

 

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/11/569874260/godless-creator-says-he-wanted-to-embrace-every-single-western-clich

 

 

[Lenient]

On 12/11/2017 at 6:55 PM, Bobje said:

In the Netflix television western series 'Godless,' cowboys and officers of the law step up to the bar and order a 'bonded.' The series is set in the 1880s, and because the Bottled in Bond act wasn't passed until 1897, I'm not sure that the dialogue is accurate. Director/screenwriter Scott Frank talks about his team's extensive research of the way people wrote and spoke in the era (see Frank interview below), so perhaps some whiskey was referred to as 'bonded' at that time, 10 years before the act was passed. Any historians familiar with the reference?

 

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/11/569874260/godless-creator-says-he-wanted-to-embrace-every-single-western-clich

 

 

This may be an old post but I just saw it now. I also noticed that and thought it was inaccurate. Most likely it's a case of a producer compromising on historical accuracy for some sort of cool factor (or cheap/lazy simplicity in some cases). Or if they think they can get away with it.

 

The amount of people who know the year for BiB is probably very small so they figure they'll compromise. 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Lenient

[Old Hippie]

8 hours ago, Lenient said:

This may be an old post but I just saw it now. I also noticed that and thought it was inaccurate. Most likely it's a case of a producer compromising on historical accuracy for some sort of cool factor (or cheap/lazy simplicity in some cases). Or if they think they can get away with it.

 

The amount of people who know the year for BiB is probably very small so they figure they'll compromise. 

Bonded warehouses first came about in 1862 when a 20 cents per proof gallon tax was levied to help pay for the Civil War. By 1865 that tax had shot up to $2 per proof gallon which killed the whiskey business. In 1865 they reduced the tax to 50 cents and gave the distillers a bonding period of 1 year before they had to pay the tax. Although I have seen no reference to bonded whiskey prior to the BIB act of 1897, the 1868 bonding period of one year could be a plausible answer. 

[kcgumbohead]

On 5/8/2018 at 8:43 AM, Old Hippie said:

Bonded warehouses first came about in 1862 when a 20 cents per proof gallon tax was levied to help pay for the Civil War. By 1865 that tax had shot up to $2 per proof gallon which killed the whiskey business. In 1865 they reduced the tax to 50 cents and gave the distillers a bonding period of 1 year before they had to pay the tax. Although I have seen no reference to bonded whiskey prior to the BIB act of 1897, the 1868 bonding period of one year could be a plausible answer. 

Those patrons must have been hard core whiskey geeks LOL!!