DC distillery makes whiskey the old fashioned way

WASHINGTON — The new D.C. distillery Jos. A. Magnus & Co. — a 2015 reboot of the original Jos. a. Magnus & Co. founded in 1892 — is continuing to blend whiskeys using recipes that date back to the 19th century.

The latest is the relaunch of Murray Hill Club Whiskey, a bourbon blend made from whiskeys ranging from nine to 18 years old. It was first introduced in 1892 and was reputedly one of the finest whiskeys on the market before Prohibition.

The distillery said it was created using blending techniques that were regularly used in the Magnus era but were largely lost with Prohibition.

Quotes from an old newspaper advertisement refer to the original as “preferred nine times out of 10 by gentlemen in society and club circles.”

Jos. A. Magnus opened its Ivy City distillery on West Virginia Avenue, Northeast in October 2015. District law allows for distilleries to serve cocktails on premise, which is what Jos. A. Magnus does, focusing on what it calls “pre-Prohibition heritage.”

In April, Jos. A. Magnus won three awards at the annual American Distilling Institute’s 20216 Spirits Competition.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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