Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Rye Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Rye Whiskey was weakened by Prohibition and then done in by the Whiskey Bust of the 1970s, and is decline too with it the distilleries of Maryland. Thanks to the concurrent whiskey and craft Distilling booms, whiskey-making has returned to Maryland, and appropriately that return is based squarely on rye.

Sagamore Spirit opened their plant on the Baltimore waterfront in April 2017. Traditionally, the Maryland style of rye was big, fruity and floral. At present, Sagamore is sourcing their whiskey while waiting for their in-house spirits to mature, so they have tried to achieve that flavor profile through blending the high rye and lower rye content rye whiskeys made by MGP in Indiana. Although the whiskey bears no age statement, it is reportedly aged for four to five years. The batch I tried was labeled as 2E, and it came in at 122.2 proof (56.1% ABV).

The Whiskey
In the glass, Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Rye had a light copper look. Giving the glass a swirl to coat it left behind a curtain of tears.

The nose was pleasant enough, imparting gingerbread, citrus oil and vanilla. Although my first sip wasn’t too hot for tasting, I found myself thinking the whiskey was too bundled up at it was, so I put in a splash of water despite having no need to mediate a bite. Doing so allowed a tart, berry-like fruitiness to come out, accompanied by cookie spices and woody notes of both cedar and oak. On the finish, a brief current of vanilla gave way to a dry, spicy woodiness.

Overall, I think Sagamore achieved it’s general target with its blending on MGP rye whiskeys. This is definitely not the boldly spicy style of Pennyslvania, but at the same time it’s not like the sweet, almost bourbon-like flavor found in Kentucky style rye whiskeys.

The Price
Expect to pay about $75 for a bottle of Sagamore Cask Strength.