Sagamore Spirit - BourbonSphere

A Whisky Dream Comes True

Carin Luna-Ostaseski wanted an approachable Scotch whisky for newcomers, so she decided to blend her own. 11 years ago, the first bottles of SIA Scotch… Read More

Carin Luna-Ostaseski wanted an approachable Scotch whisky for newcomers, so she decided to blend her own. 11 years ago, the first bottles of SIA Scotch Whisky hit the market, becoming one of the first crowd-funded whiskies to successfully go on sale. We’ll catch up with Carin on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Irish Whiskey sales took a hit on 2023, but remains one of the fastest-growing segments of the whisky market. We’ll have the details, along with the rest of the week’s whisky news and much more.

Episode 1048: March 17, 2024

Image courtesy SIA Scotch Whisky.

Changing of the Guard at Ireland’s Midleton Distillery

Master Blender Billy Leighton’s recent decision to step aside from day to day work at Irish Distillers gave his longtime apprentice the dream job of… Read More

Master Blender Billy Leighton’s recent decision to step aside from day to day work at Irish Distillers gave his longtime apprentice the dream job of a lifetime. Dave McCabe is the new Master Blender for Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, and other Irish Whiskey brands, and we’ll talk with him on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, Irish Whiskey exports posted a decline in 2023, while Islay’s Ardnahoe Distillery is shutting down part of its visitors center. We’ll have the details on those and other stories, including another new distillery for Kentucky.

Episode 1039: January 14, 2024

Photo courtesy Irish Distillers.

Bespoke Whisky, Bespoke Tweed

Collaborations between whisky makers and design houses are becoming more common, and this week, we’ll look at a partnership where each side brought their own… Read More

Collaborations between whisky makers and design houses are becoming more common, and this week, we’ll look at a partnership where each side brought their own unique skills to form a successful collaboration. The Grant family’s House of Hazelwood has teamed up with London’s Huntsman Savile Row to create a 50-year-old Huntsman whisky, along with a unique House of Hazelwood tweed for Huntsman’s bespoke suits. We’ll talk with Huntsman creative director Campbell Carey and Jonathan Gibson of the House of Hazelwood on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, strikes against Chivas Brothers have been called off after the company proposed new contract terms, and we have more award winners announced this week.

Episode 1034: December 10, 2023

Sagamore Spirit Distillery Tour Review

Sagamore Spirit Distillery is a rye whiskey distillery located in Baltimore, Maryland. They produce rye whiskeys in the old Maryland style. The distillery was founded by Kevin Plank, who is also the CEO and founder of Under Armour. In September 2023, the Italian company, Illva Saronno Holding, acquired a majority share of Sagamore Spirit Distillery. Learn more in our Sagmore Spirit Distillery Tour review!

The post Sagamore Spirit Distillery Tour Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

10 Years In…And a Lot More Left to Learn

Ann Marshall and Scott Blackwell founded High Wire Distilling in Charleston, South Carolina 10 years ago this week. They started out with no distilling experience,… Read More

Ann Marshall and Scott Blackwell founded High Wire Distilling in Charleston, South Carolina 10 years ago this week. They started out with no distilling experience, but have earned the respect of other distillers with their unique Jimmy Red Bourbon distilled from an endangered strain of corn. We’ll talk with them on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, two distilleries were sold to new owners this week, while planning permission has been granted for two more distilleries in Scotland. Former Diageo master blender Maureen Robinson has come out of retirement to lead the Kentucky Owl Bourbon brand, and Sweden’s Mackmyra Distillery marks a milestone.

Saronno Acquires Sagamore Spirit

Illva Saronno Holding S.p.A has acquired a majority stake in Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Maryland Rye whiskey brand from founder Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Holdings… Read More

Illva Saronno Holding S.p.A has acquired a majority stake in Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Maryland Rye whiskey brand from founder Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Holdings for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives the makers of the Disaronno liqueur a foothold in the American whiskey market, as well as a new home for the company’s U.S. unit. Disaronno International LLC will be moving its headquarters to the Baltimore Peninsula development where Sagamore Spirit’s distillery is located.

“Clearly, the two major players that have seen exceptional growth have been American whiskey and tequila,” said Rob Cullins, Executive Vice President of Disaronno International. “Within the American whiskey market, Rye is growing at a faster rate and is quite unique and differentiated from Bourbon, and when you go back and look at the history of whiskey making in the United States, they were actually making Rye whiskey in Maryland before Kentucky was making Bourbon, so there’s a legacy and a history…and so for us, it’s a perfect complement to get into the American whiskey space, but in a unique category and not a me-too like Bourbon but something very unique and differentiated, but also unique to Maryland and Baltimore, specifically,” he said in a telephone interview.

Plank, the executive chairman of Under Armour, will retain a minority stake in the distillery, which has been a cornerstone of his Baltimore Peninsula development in the former Port Covington industrial district. In a statement, he said “Growing Sagamore Spirit has been an incredibly rewarding experience with a team that has obsessed every detail across this holistically Maryland grain-to-glass whiskey business. I want to thank Illva Saronno Holding for their team’s passion in understanding the specialness of our unique product and look forward to the outstanding horsepower they can add into its next chapter.”

Plank founded Sagamore Spirit with partner Bill McDermond in 2013, and opened the distillery three years later. Since then, Sagamore Spirit has won more than 200 awards in various whisky competitions for its Maryland Rye whiskies.

Editor’s note: Sagamore Spirit is a sponsor of WhiskyCast. Image courtesy Sagamore Spirit.

OHLQ Announces Sagamore Spirit Barrel Select Rye Whiskey Release – Coming Week of April 24th

The Ohio Department of Liquor (OHLQ) has announced the availability of four barrels worth of Barrel Select Rye Whiskey arriving at select stores the week of April 24th for $59.99 + tax. This is aged 7 years and is a mixture of their single barrel …

These bottles come in at 110 proof (55% alcohol). The four barrel selections are:

Barrel #089 - This “cigar” style rye sings with notes of juicy, dark fruits.
Barrel #121 - Notes of sweetness deliver a satisfying flavor with a bright, medium body.
Barrel #126 - A salty, buttery flavor with notes of brown sugar blooms on the palate and resonates with oak.
Barrel #146 - A toasted flavor with notes of cinnamon bread opens up to light, subtly sweet oak.

You can use this site to try to track down a bottle. Note that inventory will be made available on a daily basis as locations receive their shipments.

My Take

Up until this moment, I didn't know Sagamore Spirit existed, but at $60 for a 7 year single barrel, that's a great price to give them a go. I would have liked to see this be a single mash bill rather than a mixture, but I'll trust their expertise. I think if you see this out and about and are looking to give something a try, I'd recommend picking up a bottle.

What do you think? Drop a note in the comments below.

Source: OHLQ

Sagamore Spirit 6 Year Rye Review

Sagamore Spirit has the goal of reviving rye production in Maryland. Yes, I did say Maryland. At one point, Maryland was a significant producer of whiskey in the US, with the majority of that whiskey being rye. However, rye in general began its demise in the mid 20th century and Maryland Rye soon all but ceased to exist. Until now.

The post Sagamore Spirit 6 Year Rye Review appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

Sagamore Spirit Rye
Barrel Select
Aged 6 Years
110 Proof
$68.99

Please enjoy my Sagamore Spirit 6 Year Rye Review!

Sagamore Spirit Rye Is Maryland Rye

Sagamore Spirit has the goal of reviving rye production in Maryland. Yes, I did say Maryland. At one point, Maryland was a significant producer of whiskey in the US, with the majority of that whiskey being rye. However, rye whiskey began its demise in the mid 20th century and Maryland Rye soon essentially ceased to exist. That is, until now.

Sagamore Spirit’s Unique Method

The folks at Sagamore Spirit use a unique method for making their rye. While they are currently distilling rye whiskey using Maryland grains, their earlier ryes are of a different origin. MGP, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, originally distilled Sagamore’s two different rye mash bills; one consisting almost entirely of rye, and the other with a much lower rye percentage, down near the legal limit of 51%. For the latter, corn makes up the remainder of the mash bill. Both mash bills also contain a small amount of malted barley. Sagmore then blends the ryes made from these two mash bills together to achieve the desired flavor profile. The ryes are then proofed down using water from a spring fed by a limestone aquifer on Sagamore Farm, which is located about 26 miles from the distillery. This spring water is transported to the distillery in tankers and stored on-site.

This particular Sagamore Spirit 6 Year Rye is aged 6 years and was selected by the folks at Total Wine in Knoxville, TN. It was distilled at MGP.

Tasting Notes

Let’s taste it:

Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

Nose: Cherry, apple, orange peel, rye seeds, cloves, cedar, brown sugar; relatively mild alcohol for the proof
Taste: Citrus, simple syrup sweetness, oak, caramel
Finish: Citrus and oak continue, with oak rising to the top where it is joined by black pepper spice and some char. Long finish with a moderate burn.

Summary

This Sagamore Spirit 6 Year Rye took me a bit by surprise. I don’t expect as much spice and “bite” in a Maryland style rye as I would in a typical MGP 95/5 rye, so no surprises there. What I wasn’t expecting was all the fruit in the nose. However, it blended together quite well with the other flavors. The level of citrus also made me take note. It too goes perfectly with the other flavors. It was just a bit more than I was expecting given the combined mash bills. I have been a fan of Sagamore Spirit Ryes ever since we first visited them back in 2019, and this one is quite enjoyable as well.

I hope you enjoyed my Sagamore Spirit 6 Year Rye Review! If you would like to learn about a few more Sagamore Spirit Ryes, check out our Sagamore Spirit Tequila Finish Rye Review, our Sagamore Spirit Calvados Finish Rye Review and our Sagamore Spirit Manhattan Finish Rye Review!

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!