Joseph Magnus Triple Cask Finished Oloroso, PX and Cognac Michigan Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2023) 75cl
A marriage of straight bourbon whiskey aged in white oak barrels and finished in Oloroso sherry, Pedro Ximénez sherry, and cognac casks.
Jos. A. Magnus & Co. is the second coming of the Magnus brand. Originally started by Joseph A. Magnus in 1892, the company focused on producing whiskey until Prohibition took hold. Afterwards, the brand was revitalized when Joseph Magnus’ great grandson discovered a few unopened bottles bearing the family namesake. Re-established in 2015, the company now focuses on blending and finishing techniques initially employed by Joseph Magnus.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Expressive and enticing, the nose starts off with scents of orange rind drizzled with light honey, along with a rush of ripe plums and other dark fruits. Diving in deeper reveals hints of buttercream frosted cake, light leather, and the slightest hint of ethanol. The triple cask finish is apparent, as the mingling of scents is unique yet distinguished, providing a thought-provoking complexity and a great way to open the sip.
Palate: The sip starts with sweeter notes of cherry pie filling, vanilla and brown sugar. Dark fruits pop behind and help bridge the transition to drier notes of oak and leather. The fact that this bourbon touched four different barrels seems to be more prominent here, as the drier notes become more dominating the longer you swirl the sip around in your mouth. While the delivery may not quite live up to what the nose teased, it comes pretty close.
Finish: The drier flavors from the palate slide into the finish to round things out. Green peppercorn, oak, leather, and a hint of tobacco leaf immediately pop. These morph into a lingering dry oak with a slight hint of medicinal cherry similar to a HALLS cough drop.
About Joseph Magnus
Joseph A. Magnus & Co. is a distillery that has made a significant impact in the whiskey industry. Founded in 2015, the company has revived the legacy of Joseph A. Magnus, a whiskey magnate from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The distillery is known for its unique blending and finishing techniques, which include a triple cask finishing process using Oloroso sherry, Pedro Ximénez, and Cognac casks. This innovative approach allows the distillery to replicate the original flavor profile of the 122-year-old Murray Hill Club Whiskey. The brand is recognized for its high-quality spirits and has become a perennial medalist in international spirit competitions. Jos. A. Magnus & Co. continues to honor the spirit of Joseph A. Magnus by producing remarkable spirits that are crafted with care and precision
In 1918, the imminent arrival of National Prohibition caused Magnus to pause his whiskey production and sales. For the remainder of his life, Magnus enjoyed but did not produce fine spirits. His four children grew up and started families of their own, and the story of their father’s success began to fade into legend. Stories and a few dusty artifacts were all that remained.
Then, nearly a century later, a fortunate discovery was made by one of Magnus’ great-grandsons: a bottle of 122-year-old Murray Hill Club Whiskey, tucked away and seemingly forgotten. The possibility of having an original, unadulterated remnant of Magnus’ famed whiskey was incredibly exciting and also carried a weight of responsibility to do justice to this beautifully aged and preserved bottle.
To make sense of this rare find, the family gathered industry veterans to extract a few milliliters from the famed bottle, to taste, test, and reproduce, if possible. These experts were stunned to discover it to be one of the greatest bourbons they had ever tasted.
Today, using the same blending and finishing techniques Joseph Magnus employed over 100 years ago, Magnus Master Blender, Nancy Fraley, finishes 12-year-old bourbon in a triple cask finishing process using Oloroso Sherry, Pedro Ximénez, and Cognac casks. The result is that we have come as close as possible to the original Joseph Magnus Bourbon in that 122-year-old bottle.
Joseph a. Magnus’ insistence on nothing short of perfection resulted in the highly acclaimed whiskies that now bear his name. More than 135 years after the doors to his distillery were first opened, his whiskies are still heralded as the most remarkable spirits for the most remarkable people.
Magnus’ story begins all the way back in the young, war-torn America of the middle nineteenth century. In the midst of the Civil War in 1864, young Magnus received news that his father had been killed in battle. With three younger siblings to take care of, he matured quickly and took on the responsibility of caring for his siblings. His late father had been a merchant, and Magnus took after him to become a savvy businessman. He soon discovered a niche market for wholesale liquors, and by the time he was twenty-six he had painstakingly built up a liquor empire based out of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Magnus prided himself not only on the quality and age of his spirits, but on intelligent and honorable business methods. Excellent whiskey, he recognized, was more than simply a pleasant experience for the drinker – it was a means of promoting good conversation, close fellowship, and “the interchange of kindly deeds and pleasant thoughts.”
The drinkers of Murray Hill Club Whiskey were, in accordance with Joseph’s vision, people of discriminating taste and mature judgment. Joseph actively introduced his whiskey into the leading bars, hotels, cafes, and groceries of his day. Local newspapers were peppered with advertisements for this new whiskey, which quickly earned great acclaim. He encouraged readers to sample just a taste, for “give this whiskey a trial once, and you’ll take no other brand.”
*please allow 7-14 days for delivery on this item
50% ABV
75cl
