The following Cigar Blend Batches #201-206 are a blend of 9-year-old 36% MGP and 21% Rye Bourbon, 16-year-old Barton’s Rye Bourbon, and 20-year-old MGP 36% Rye Bourbon. The 9-year-old components were aged in a cool, damp area of the warehouse, so while the color of the spirit isn’t as deep as some Cigar Blend Bourbon expressions, they do offer a bit more roundness and finesse on the palate of these batches.
Batches #201-206 are part of the same “coupe mere” or mother blend of 18 bourbon barrels, which went into six, 300-liter Armagnac casks. They have a fair amount of fruit, cream, sweetness, and tobacco on the nose and palate, although the way it presents itself is a little different in all six batches. For enhanced enjoyment, Master Blender Nancy Fraley recommends opening the bottle and taking a small pour off the neck in order to allow the bottle to aerate for an hour or more to fully appreciate the intensity and complexity of the dram.
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #201: Butter Bomb
114.92 Proof
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #201, aka “Butter Bomb,” lives up to its bombastic fanciful name in every sense! The nose is intense with butterscotch blondies with milk chocolate chips, graham crackers, brown butter, and cinnamon covered French toast smothered with thick maple syrup. These buttery flavors continue on to the palate where there is a surprising blast of brown baking spice, black pepper, and rye spice. The finish has sweet hot buttered rum with menthol notes of honey butter and wintergreen mint. Not a usual profile we’ve seen for Cigar Blend Bourbon, but a very interesting one!
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #202: Fruity Patootee
114.88 Proof
This batch of Jos. Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon, aka “Fruity Patootee,” offers a cornucopia of fruity notes on the nose, starting with orchard fruit desserts such as pear tart, old fashioned apple pie topped with cheddar cheese, and aromatic quince paste. These notes extend to the palate, where a touch of sweet pipe tobacco, stewed apples in cinnamon, orange marmalade on a buttery croissant, and oatmeal raisin cookies predominate. The fruit carries on to the finish, with waves of fruit cocktail cake, candied walnuts, and white icing.
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #203: Sugar Shack
114.80 Proof
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #203, aka “Sugar Shack,” is named after the sap houses in New England and Eastern Canada, where maple sap is collected and boiled into maple syrup. This batch delivers a spectrum of maple syrup-inspired desserts and savory dishes that delight the nose and palate. The bouquet is filled with aromas of toasted butternut squash with a maple chili glaze, buttermilk pancakes smothered with blackberry maple syrup, and grilled figs stuffed with bacon and blue cheese. The palate continues with dried apricots, Canadian maple syrup cake with ground ginger and candied walnuts, and caramelized maple acorn squash. For those that like their Cigar Blend to have a touch of sweetness, spice, fruit, and tang, this batch will not disappoint!
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #204: Figgy Pudding
114.78 Proof
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #204, aka “Figgy Pudding,” conjures up the much beloved British honey, dark dried fruit, and nuts dessert that was first enjoyed during the Christmas holidays in medieval England. This batch boasts rich, decadent notes of steamed fig pudding combined with sultanas, dates, blanched almonds, ground ginger, and candied orange citrus peels topped with hot brandy butter. The nose extends these notes with deep flavors of white raisins, chocolate mint chip ice cream, and orange blossom honey. The finish is as long as the original figgy pudding recipe is old, with undulating waves of figs and black currants.
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #205: Tobacco Road
114.90 Proof
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #205, aka “Tobacco Road,” is loosely based on the 1932 novel by Erskine Caldwell of the same name and is bursting with flavors hailing from the American South. The nose presents intense aromas of peach cobbler with biscuit crust and homemade vanilla ice cream, bourbon pecan pie with chocolate chips, Mississippi mud cake with marshmallow cream, and last but not least, the creamy sweetness and vanilla bean notes of Black Cavendish pipe tobacco. These notes carry over to the palate, combined with stewed prunes, New Orleans beignets, and butterscotch pecan bread pudding. Light tobacco notes present themselves again on the palate, and lead to a sweet, slightly smokey finish. For fans of Jos. Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon who like to pair their pour with a cigar or pipe, this batch will work particularly well.
Cigar Blend Bourbon Batch #206: Vanilla Bean Dream
114.74 Proof
For bourbon fans who enjoy a lot of vanilla flavors in a pour, Batch #206 aka “Vanilla Bean Dream” will be anything but boring! The nose is rich with a spectrum of vanilla inspired desserts, from white cake with vanilla-Mascarpone buttercream icing, peach shortcake trifle, eggnog with hot buttered dark rum, and vanilla custard with bourbon-caramel sauce. The palate develops more dimensionality, with cinnamon toast with a vanilla bean-maple syrup sauce, caramel popcorn, fragrant honeysuckle, and pecan pralines, with a rye spice and vanilla bean finish.
Fine retailers across the nation who offer the full collection of Joseph Magnus spirits will be among the first to receive an allocation of these very limited batches. Be sure to reach out to retailers in your area to inquire about our Cigar Blend Bourbon or use the Store Locator to find a retailer near you.
