Nancy Fraley
“The Nose”
Nancy Fraley’s nose has a reputation that precedes her name. She first found her way into the world of spirits simply through a youngster’s naughty fascination. She recounted that as a child, she once sipped bourbon and cola at her father’s wedding reception, a small moment of delight that stuck solid in her memory. Over time, she realized that her sense of smell was unusually acute: she was able to detect faults, nuances, and hidden aromatic signals in spirits when others simply smelled “oak” or “vanilla.” Her nose is so complexly precise that in 2012, Fraley created the industry’s first “Craft Whiskey Aroma Wheel,” which helps classify and standardize whiskey aromas from an objective standpoint.
Her formal background is astonishingly broad for someone in the distilled spirits craft. She holds a degree in Religion from the University of Tennessee, a Master’s degree in Indo‑Tibetan Buddhism from Harvard, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco, with a focus on International Human Rights and Maritime & Admiralty law. Yet somewhere along that winding intellectual path, she gravitated to the sensory sciences of blending and maturation, an unlikely bridge between law, religion, and the quiet chemistry that comes together to form good whiskey.
In her early adult life, Nancy entered the craft spirits world via Germain‑Robin (a California brandy distillery in Ukiah, California), where she honed her blending, nosing, and maturation instincts. From there, she traveled to France’s Cognac and Armagnac regions, learning French methodologies of slow water reduction, élevage, and blending under traditional masters. Since 2012, her formal enterprise has been Nosing Services, based in Berkeley, California: a consulting concern through which she offers blending, product formulation, maturation program design, and sensory analysis to distilleries globally.
The relationship that Nancy holds with distiller Joseph A. Magnus is one of long-term, deep collaboration. In the resurrection of the old pre‑Prohibition Magnus brand, Fraley became the master blender and the guiding creative force. She oversaw the creation of many of Magnus’s award-winning bourbons, such as Joseph Magnus Bourbon, Cigar Blend Bourbon, and Murray Hill Club. At Magnus, her role is sometimes described as a “ghost blender,” that is, someone whose name may not always appear on the label, but whose work is in every aroma, every finishing decision, and every barrel selection. Magnus, for its part, has leaned on her loyalty: she has indicated that once she signs on with a distiller, she tends to remain deeply committed, sometimes shifting into an emeritus or advisory role, but never abandoning the brand. For Magnus, over time, Fraley’s nose has become a company asset, a secret weapon, and a guardian of consistency.
Her bond with Still Austin Whiskey Co., by contrast, is somewhat more recent but no less intensive. Still Austin is a grain‑to‑glass distillery in Austin, Texas, founded by local families, with a mission to express Texas terroir. In their distillery, the massive column still (aptly named “Nancy”) symbolizes the ambition of the place, but Fraley is the soul behind the blends. It was at Still Austin that Fraley introduced the technique of slow water reduction (gradually adding water to aged barrels over time to bring the proof down), drawn from French tradition in Cognac and Armagnac. Under her hand, their flagship bourbon, The Musician, was crafted with aromatic complexity; tropical fruit, toasted marshmallow, rye spice, each note carefully weighted by her blending logic. Still Austin also runs a “Nancy’s Pick” monthly single-barrel release, in which Fraley personally selects one exceptional barrel aged at least five years, bottles it, and makes it available only in their distillery in Austin. Through that ritual, she achieves a direct, tangible link to the public: each bottle bears her implicit judgment. Her impact at Still Austin has been acknowledged publicly: she was recently named the 2024 Women of Whiskey Master Blender of the Year. In remarks accompanying the award, she reflected on working within a male‑dominated industry and expressed the hope that her recognition might invite more women into the craft. Her win is a proud moment for the team at Still Austin, and for anyone fervent about the booming growth of women in whiskey. But despite her achievements, she remains modest: she often credits the distillers, casks, barrels, and grain environments as co‑creators of whiskey’s final voice, rather than elevating the blender to a maestro above all.
In the warehouses, Fraley walks where she is comfortable, in the quiet, dry darkness, among oak and aromas so intense that they are nearly tactile. But among the craft distillers with whom she toils, Nancy Fraley is certainly more than a nose; she is nothing short of an olfactory legend.
Sources:
Craft Spirits Magazine, “Still Austin’s Nancy Fraley Wins 2024 Women of Whiskey Master Blender of the Year”, craftspiritsmag.com
Forbes, “How Still Austin Crafts Its Exceptional Texas Whiskeys”, Joseph Micallef, January 8, 2025
Still Austin Whiskey Company, “Distillery Exclusives”, stillaustin.com
Distiller Magazine, “The Élevage Evangelist”, Margarett Waterbury, August 1, 2024
Bourbon Lens podcast, “Episode 330”, Scott Dilley, May 11, 2025
The Whiskey Wash, “Nancy Fraley’s Professional ‘Nose’ …”, Tom Bentley, September 7, 2016
American Whiskey Magazine, “Interview: Nancy Fraley”, Andrew Faulkner, November 16, 2021
Washington City Paper, “Follow Nancy Fraley’s Nose…”, Jeff DuFour, February 1, 2017
Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee
