Distillery: Sourced from MGP
Proof: 103
Age: NAS (Blend of 18, 11, and 9 Years Old)
Mashbill: Undisclosed
BACKGROUND: Joseph A. Magnus is a whiskey brand originally started by its' namesake in 1892. The company originally focused on producing whiskey called Murray Hill Club until the Prohibition started and they were closed to end operations. However, in 2015, the brand was re-launched after Joseph's great grandson found a few unopened bottles of his great-grandfather's whiskey. Since then, the company has been focused on blending and finishing whiskey in methods originally used by Joseph himself. When they re-launched the Joseph A. Magnus brand, the goal was to keep the whiskey as close to the original juice as possible. To ensure this, the Magnus family brought in industry veterans to extract whiskey from the 122 year old found bottles and taste, test, and reproduce it. Joseph Magnus hired the iconic Nancy Fraley to be their master blender on their whiskey. The brand produces 3 different bourbons, the Joseph Magnus bourbon which is finished in sherry and cognac casks, Murray Hill Club, and Cigar Bend which is extremely allocated and is a blend of 11 and 18 year old whiskey finished in armagnac, sherry, and cognac casks. This Murray Hill Club is a blend of 11 and 18 year old bourbons with an 9 year old light whiskey.
NOSE: The nose is very rich with notes of butterscotch, nutmeg, black pepper, barrel char, and oak. There are hints of stone fruit as well and vanilla making this a nose that has nice mature whiskey notes infused with dark sweet scents. The nose is very approachable with no burn and is well balanced with deep scents. (22/25)
PALATE: Rich and chewy notes of caramel, honey, clove, plum, and cinnamon blend together nicely supported by some toasted oak, dry all-spice, and some roasted candied pecans. Overall, the whiskey is delicious with a darker sweetness along with some unique cinnamon notes that are absolutely delicious. (36/40)
FINISH: The finish is medium in length with notes of barrel char, toasted oak, all-spice, and slight hints of maple. It left our mouthes watering for another sip. (22/25)
VALUE: Murray Hill Club has an SRP of $95 but is often priced up around $125-150. At retail this is a great buy but it is hard to find and harder to find at retail. (8/10)
Overall: 88/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Murray Hill Club is an absolutely delicious bourbon whiskey with a complex flavor profile allowing you to revisit it time and time again and remind yourself why you enjoy it. The challenge is finding it at a good price but if you do, we couldn't recommend this enough, especially if you like dark and mature bourbon notes.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Wild Turkey Master's Keep Decades
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Knob Creek 15 Year
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Blanton's
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away