A DISCOVERY OF bottled history

Joseph A. Magnus & Co. Uncover an Incredible Life and Spirit Buried in Time

By Michael Tulipan

Imagine Finding A Bottle Of Bourbon

over a hundred and twenty years old in your family’s possessions. You may wonder how it could have survived intact after more than a century and even more importantly if it would be drinkable? Incredibly, spirits industry veterans proclaimed this bourbon discovery to be among the best they had ever tasted, but that is just the beginning of this remarkable comeback story.

The modern story of Joseph A. Magnus & Co. begins with such a discovery in 2007. Joseph A. Magnus, a wholesaler, blender, and rectifier of premium spirits in the late 19th and 20th centuries, was a successful and well-respected businessman in his time. After Prohibition took hold in the country and his story had long faded into history, even his family only knew vaguely about his life and work. That is until Magnus’s great-grandson discovered an original bottle, dated May 1892, buried in his mother’s closet, and set off to learn who his ancestor was. This journey uncovered not just a history of Pre-Prohibition whiskey, but a remarkable life marked by a commitment to family, honest business practices, community leadership and philanthropy.

The son of a merchant who died in the Civil War, Magnus had been suddenly thrust into the business world to take care of his siblings and quickly built up his business as a liquor wholesaler. He also created his own whiskey brands, including the most famous of its time, Murray Hill Club, which was named for a saloon in New York City. Magnus prided himself on being honorable in business and in life. He also focused on creating high quality spirits that fostered conversation and conviviality among whiskey drinkers, something the company continues to embody today.

While the family intuitively knew something special had been rediscovered, the first step was to see if it was even any good. In June 2014, the industry’s leading experts were brought together in Louisville’s historic The Brown Hotel and when they carefully extracted 100 ml of the preserved whiskey and tasted it, they were blown away by its quality, calling it the best bourbon they had ever tasted. The next question was how to come as close as possible to recreating what they had sampled.

To bring Magnus’s legacy back to life, the company was re-established in late 2015 with Master Blender Nancy Fraley at the helm of product quality and showcased Joseph Magnus Bourbon as the flagship product, a triple-cask finished bourbon that used the same heritage blending and finishing techniques employed by Joseph Magnus himself over 100 years earlier.

“At a time when quality and safety standards were not regulated like they are today, Magnus took great pride in offering unadulterated spirits that were of the highest quality and made for those with refined tastes and discerning palates,” says Ali Anderson, National Sales Manager for Jos. A. Magnus & Co. “We are proud to embody this same commitment to quality today with our use of premium ingredients, attention to detail in every blend and finish and a talented team that stands behind it all.”

Channeling the spirit and extraordinary life of its namesake, Joseph A. Magnus & Co today offers a taste of history in a line of “Remarkable Spirits for Remarkable People.” The re-established company resurrected the Murray Hill Club label for its first release in 2016 followed in Spring 2017 by a private barrel program and a collection of limited release, special-finish bourbons in the Murray Hill series and the highly coveted Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon in late Fall 2017. Joseph Magnus spirits are currently available in more than 40 states, authenticating a legacy that would make Magnus proud.

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By Michael Tulipan