Magnus Bourbon

Short notice tasting
Nicole Hassoun - distiller at Magnus will be at the Forsyth from 1pm until 2pm today
Short notice - but come meet here and taste the Magnus Gin, Vodka, Bourbon and Murray Hill Club

She can sign bottles for you if you like!



Info from the Washington Post

Nicole Hassoun, named Best Bartender in the 2014 Express reader's poll, will turn her gin expertise towards distilling at Joseph A. Magnus and Co. (Photo by Kate Warren for Express)

Spearheading Magnus and Co.'s gin is Nicole Hassoun, who has worked in Washington's foremost gin bars, Wisdom and the Gin Joint at New Heights. (Readers of Express named her D.C.'s Best Bartender in 2014.) But Hassoun doesn't just mix other people's drinks: While at New Heights, she began developing a line of housemade tonics, which are now sold as Chronic Tonic at a number of D.C. liquor stores.

It's this creative background that Hassoun will draw on as a gin distiller, or "Gin Goddess," as a company press release puts it, working alongside such veterans as former Buffalo Trace general manager Richard Wolf and former Woodford Reserve general manager Dave Scheurich. "I don't have a lot of distillation in my background," Hassoun admits. "I've got the knowledge but not so much the hands-on experience." She's been working with her new co-workers and taking notes at other area distillers. "It's been cool learning and watching what other people do, and learning the thought process."

Hassoun doesn't want to give away too much about the as-yet-unnamed gin, though she says it's "really well-balanced" in the London Dry style. It also uses exclusively American ingredients, so Hassoun says she's spent her time "knocking on farmers' doors, schmoozing them, and getting them to sell me their wares."

Working at D.C.'s top gin bars has allowed Hassoun to try a wide variety of gins, and she says she's "not beholden to one style." She explains that she didn't have any particular cocktails in mind when crafting the new recipe, but "prefers a gin that can shine through, and stand out" regardless of other ingredients. "I've been through it all," she says, "Aviations to Last Words to gin-and-tonics, making sure the gin shines through, whether you're doing [cocktails] with citrus or doing it with chartreuse."
But Hassoun isn't just planning to be a fixture among the stills: She's also going to be crafting the cocktail program for the Jos. A. Magnus and Co. distillery bar, creating drinks featuring all of the house spirits. "I'll be hands-on, pushing my boundaries and educating myself," she says.

Back in stock!
Our next load arrived!

Plus they have a St. Louis connection -
The master distiller, Brett Thompson, is a Kirkwood High graduate and one of their partners lives in Clayton!

We are the first place and only place outside the Washington D.C. area that you can find their Bourbon!!

Joseph Magnus Bourbon Straight Bourbon Whiskey...$79.99

Joseph Magnus Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a marriage of bourbon aged in white oak and finished in Oloroso Sherry, Pedro Ximénez Sherry, and Cognac casks—for a wholly unique flavor profile that’s worthy of the Magnus name.   Thanks to our loyal supporters like you, our Joseph Magnus Bourbon in Inaugural Edition bottles was a smashing successes -- both batches sold out within hours! But we are not ones to rest on our laurels. For the New Year, we have retired the Inaugural Bottles and proudly introduced our product in custom designed bottles inspired by historic Magnus bourbon bottles. It's the same great bourbon, only sexier!
Tasting Notes - Rich deep flavors with notes of orange citrus, dried dark fruits and vanilla.
Alc. by Vol. 50% / 100 proof

GOLD MEDAL
2016 American Distilling Institute
Craft Blended Spirits Competition

BEST IN CATEGORY:
BOURBON AGED 5+ YEARS
2016 American Distilling Institute
Craft Blended Spirits Competition

BEST IN CLASS: WHISKEY
2016 American Distilling Institute
Craft Blended Spirits Competition

Joseph Magnus Murray Hill Club....$79.99

Blend of 18 Year Old, 11 year old and 9 Year Old
Murray Hill Club is the historic Magnus flagship brand, and is a blended bourbon whiskey - Magnus Master Blender Nancy Fraley is to be commended for her work to get the balance just right - the Murray Hill Club a blend of 18-year bourbon, 11-year bourbon, and a bit of 9 year-old light whiskey to round out the flavor -- it is truly an exceptional and unique product.

Richard Wolf, Magnus Dream Team member and former GM and VP of Buffalo Trace had the following notes upon tasting a sample of the finished product: "Nice amber to golden color, clear, clean. Fantastic, ‘old’ whiskey nose - smells like Warehouse C at Buffalo Trace (one of my favorite places to hang out)! Notes of wood, char, vanilla, dried fruit. Taste delivers on promise of nose, nicely balanced, lots of black pepper forms at mid palate and lingers, Finish, long and warm. Overall, quite lovely."

Henry Preiss, creator of A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16 had the following notes: Tasting Murray Hill was an adventure in whisky made in a fashion of an era gone buy. Rich notes of vanilla and layers of dried fruit make for an most enjoyable whisky.

Magnus Master Blender Nancy Fraley shared: The 21st century Murray Hill Club whiskey is made as a nod to the ancestral art of our Magnus blending fore bearers by carefully selecting, blending, and marrying mature whiskeys from 9 to 18 years old to give it complexity, elegance, and finesse. The whiskey has notes of honey, toffee, dark dried fruit, orange citrus, and brown baking spice, with a long, warm finish.

Jos. A. Magnus Vigilant Gin...$27.99 / 750ml
SILVER MEDAL WINNER at 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition!
Inspired by our quest to make the perfect cocktail gin, we created Vigilant Gin — a London style dry gin, showcasing hand-foraged Oregon juniper berries, bright citrus, and balanced herbs.
Alc. by Vol. 42% / 84 Proof

Jos. A. Magnus Royal Seal Vodka....$27.99
BRONZE MEDAL WINNER at 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition!
Created by distiller Nicole Hassoun, Royal Seal vodka is a perfect cocktail vodka and is so smooth its great straight.

Tasting Notes - slight citrus nose, smooth clean finish, perfect in a martini.

Alc. by Vol. 40% / 80 proof