Sagamore Spirit Set To Release First Rye Whiskey

Sagamore Spirit, a new Baltimore-based whiskey company, announced late last week that it will release its rye whiskey on May 13, 2016. The first limited batch will be available in select restaurants, bars and liquor stores in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

“We couldn’t be more excited to launch and bring the tradition of rye whiskey back to Maryland,” said Brian Treacy, President of Sagamore Spirit. “We are proud to make spirits worthy of our state’s distilling heritage.”

Sagamore Spirit Straight Rye Whiskey is an American whiskey with an unusual mash bill and proofing process. The distilling team blends two different straight rye whiskies, made with a high rye and a low rye mashbill, and then adds Sagamore Farm spring-fed water to create an 83 proof Maryland-style rye whiskey. Sagamore drives this water 22 miles from the limestone spring at Sagamore Farm to their bottling facility at City Garage in Port Covington. 100 percent of Sagamore Rye is cut to proof with this distinct water.

“Our water and our mash bill make us unlike anything else on the market,” says Co-Founder Bill McDermond. “We’ve waited patiently for the spirit to age to perfection. We believe it’s reached a quality that’s both complex and captivating.”

The company broke ground on its five-acre whiskey distillery in Port Covington on October 28, 2015 and will offer tours and tastings to the public when it opens. The 22,000 square-foot distillery building will house an American-made column still and pot still, handle the shipping and receiving of grains, and new and used barrels. A 120-foot water tower, visible from I-95, will hold Sagamore Farm spring water used in the proofing process.

The 27,000 square-foot processing center will house Sagamore Spirit’s state-of-the-art bottling line and a Visitor Center, where Sagamore expects to welcome over 100,000 visitors annually.