The Best Rye Whiskey of 2024
Bottle purchased at retail by EZdrinking.
AT A GLANCE
Name: Small Batch Straight Rye Whiskey
Owned by: Illva Saronno, Lombardy, Italy
Distilled and Bottled by: Sagamore Spirit
Spirit Type: Rye Whiskey
Mash Bills: High Rye: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barly; Low Rye: 52% Rye, 43% Corn, 5% Malted Barley
Still Type: Column Still with Two Copper Doublers
Age: NAS (4-6 years)
Strength: 46.5%
Price: $39
Kevin Plank, CEO of Uder Armour founded Sagamore Spirits in 2013 but construction of their Baltimore distillery did not begin until 2015. As the build out progressed Sagamore began sorcing aged rye from MGP (now Ross & Squibb Distillery) in Lawrenceburge, IN and had them contract distill new make for them. Sagamore's 22,000 square food ditillery opened in April 2017 and they got straight to work distilling two rye mashbills on their 24 inch column still from Vendome. On the label and in some of their marketing you might notice they claim their whiskey is triple distilled which is unusual outside of Irish whiskey. Looking into it I discovered that their column still is connected to two doublers (esentially pot stills) so the spirit gets distilled once in the column, and two more times in the doublers. While this would probably not count as triple distilled in Ireland, it is effective at making a good base spirit.
Sagamore is one of a number of distilleries looking to revieve the old style of Maryland Rye Whiskey that was popular from about 1850 to 1950 and completly dissapeard in the 1980s. In general, Maryland rye was know for being sweeter than ryes coming out of Pennsylvania and so Sagamore took two rye whiskey mash bills from MGP (one high and one low rye contnet) and blended them together to land around where a historic Maryland rye might have been. If you are interested to learn more about Maryland rye you find a whole chapter about it in my book The Atlas of Bourbon & American Whiskey.
Sagamore began selling their sourced whiskey in May 2016, and in 2021 they released their first bottles of 100% Maryland distilled and aged rye as a Bottled in Bond. Then in May 2024 Sagamore released the first bottles of their Small Batch (Maryland) Stright Rye Whiskey which completed their transition from fully sourced whiskey, to a blend of sourced and in-house whiskey and now all their own aged whiskey. This is a historic milestone because while there are several Maryland distillers making good rye, Sagamore is the only one currently with a national reach that reintroduce Maryland rye to the broader public.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: On the nose there are notes of molasses followed by lighter notes of vanilla, honey, warm rye bread, carraway, and oak. As the it opens light notes of dill and wintergreen rise up.
Palate: On the palate there is a nice light sweetness or caramel and vanilla that slips across the tongue light and warm. The whiskey has light peach character followed by flavors of oak and a light grassy note but without any bitterness or astringency.
Finish: The finish is long and savory with notes of oak, dill and candied orange peal with a light sweetness.
Conclusion: Sagamore Straight Rye is an excellent whiskey, a strong addition to the story of Maryland rye and the best new rye whiskey I’ve had in 2024. If you are curious to taste Maryland rye this is an excelent place to begin. This whiskey is very veritile and can easily be enjoyed neat, on the rocks, with water or in your favorite cocktail. If you are a fan of rye this definitly one you should look for and enjoy.