By Richard Thomas
Rating: A-
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
I think to understand why Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirits does things the way that it does, one needs to start with what Maryland style rye whiskey is. While the Kentucky style of rye, which is as close to bourbon as possible without actually being bourbon, or Pennsylvania’s lots of rye, no corn approach, Maryland mash bills sat more or less between the two. Maryland ryes always had more corn in their mashes than Kentucky, but less than Pennsylvania and the Marylanders used some corn.
But the style disappeared along with Maryland’s distilleries during the aftermath of first Prohibition and then the Great Whiskey Crash of the 1970s and 1980s. Sagamore Spirits started plying the well-trod path of building a brand with sourced whiskey prior to building a distillery and laying up stocks of whiskey, and as they were determined to revive the Maryland tradition, they ran into a problem: there was no one utilizing that kind of mash bill at that time and so no one to source from.
So instead, Sagamore blended their way into the Maryland style by sourcing two different rye stocks from MGP in Indiana. One was the ubiquitous 95% rye whiskey that is the basis for so many sourced brands, but they also ordered their Kentucky style 51% rye, 45% corn as well. Blending these two together in the right proportions achieves something akin to the high rye, low corn Maryland mash bill.
But going forward into the era that Sagamore had an operational distillery and would be laying up their own stocks of whiskey, that left a choice: what were they going to make? Mimic their sourcing in the name of consistency or roll the dice with their own in-house Maryland style mash bill? They went the latter route. While it is too simple to say Sagamore copies MGP, because even small differences in equipment and especially where a whiskey is matured can play out in strongly distinctive ways, today they make a version of both their sourced stocks and are in the process of transitioning their brand over to in-house production.
And that brings me to Sagamore 7 Year Old Bottled in Bond Rye. As Sagamore’s in-house supplies have grown more mature, so has their bonded rye, now three years beyond the statutory minimum required by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. That is quite mature by rye standards. Their original bonded release was five years old.
The Whiskey
The pour has a bright, clear amber coloring, quite distinct from the more common copper coloring that so many rye whiskeys have. The nose leads with its orange zest and dried peaches, holding hands with the nutmeg, clove and spearmint spice blend. Underneath is vanilla and a hint of cedar.
The palate opens quite differently, leading with its spicy side now, accompanied by an old wood note. Not leathery, mind you, just not green. That develops on the mid-palate into tea tannins, whereupon it also adds the stone fruit back into the mix. The finish jinks hard into tannic oak, then jinks back on course to fade out with the cookie spices.
It’s a lovely rye, and one that punches well above its weight (age statement). For it’s price point, this bottle is a major bargain and must-buy for rye whiskey fans.
The Price
Expect to pay $60 for this item.
