DFW Whiskey Club, a premier local whiskey club in North Texas, recently collaborated with our team to hand select a 13-year-old Indiana-distilled bourbon that quickly sold out in approximately two and a half hours. Enjoy the stories shared by Dustin Morrison, a DFW Whiskey Club administrator, below:
DFW Whiskey Club brought a team of seven well-versed whiskey enthusiasts to taste and select their first Joseph Magnus release of 2020. The color of the release was a gorgeous honey amber that calls out with the allure of a siren song, inviting individuals to sample its deep warmth. The nose gives the impression of dried dark exotic fruits, followed by a hint of dark chocolate, caramel, and oak. The palate initially follows the nose with flavorful sweet caramel and oak, but then deviates into something completely unexpected that lies just beneath the surface. The tell-tale flavor of vanilla strikes first, complemented by almonds that have been lightly dipped in honey. Despite the myriad of flavors, the palate does not barrage the participant, but is saved by its balance, resulting in harmony. The Indiana distilled, 13-year-old bourbon is a complex pour that drinks lower than its proof, making it the perfect pour for anyone seeking an adventure and wishing to bring someone else along for the ride.
Our group was fortunate to have eight barrels to choose from and quickly narrowed it down to two barrels. One was slightly more oak forward and one was slightly sweeter in the finish. The members were so impressed with both barrels that they pleaded to get the second barrel as well. Unfortunately, but also understandably, DFW Whiskey Club was only allowed one.
On release day, patrons started lining up just before 7am at Angel’s Beverage in Plano, Texas. The line wrapped around the building and stretched halfway down the shopping strip by 9am. Donny, the owner of Angel’s Beverage, and the DFW Whiskey Club admins (Paolo, Raymond, Bao, and Dustin) brought breakfast sandwiches and donuts to those patiently waiting outside. It was a fun opportunity for members to meet face-to-face, share stories of bourbon hunting, and give opinions on their favorite DFW Whiskey Club picks to date. There were lots of selfies, laughs, high fives, and even Girl Scout cookies! One little scout was a true entrepreneur who knew her Girl Scout cookies would pair perfectly with the much-anticipated bourbon release. We hear she did very well.
When the clock struck 10am the gates opened! Member after member flooded into the store to lay claim to their bottle. Everyone was respectful and maintained the first-come, first-serve approach. Donny did a fantastic job of managing traffic and making sure wait time was minimal. His regular customers were accommodated on a separate register, so they didn’t have to wait in the line to check out. Members also stocked up on other products which is an important benefit of having a whiskey group barrel pick facilitated through a store. It brings new foot traffic and an opportunity to showcase the inventory and customer service provided by the store to new customers. By 11am the bottle quantity was getting thin and the line had grown even longer from additional members showing up to try and get a bottle. By noon the bottles were all but gone. Only a few stragglers remained, and they were picked up early on Monday morning by people that were out of town for the weekend. The entire barrel worth of product sold out in about two and a half hours. We wish every person could have purchased a bottle but unfortunately there are only so many bottles that can be filled from each barrel.
Remember that other barrel we wanted so badly? We got a call about a week ago from our rep and he gave us the amazing news that the second barrel was on its way to Texas and has DFW WHISKEY CLUB on the label! That’s right! We’ll be dropping our second Joseph Magnus barrel of 2020 really soon. Make sure you befriend someone in the club and checkout the website, so you don’t miss this one!
Many thanks to our friends at DFW Whiskey Club for their support of our team and our craft. Looking forward to highlighting additional private barrel selections throughout 2020, while also launching a new Private Barrel Selection Program. Join our mailing list to stay up-to-date on this program, new releases, and more in the coming weeks and months.
