Sagamore 9 Year Cask Strength Rye

SAGAMORE RESERVE SERIES RYE
9-Year Old Batch 1A (2024)

MASH BILL – blend of two unstated Indiana rye mash bills (undoubtedly the MGP 95% rye / 5% malted barley and 51% rye / 45% corn / 4% malted barley)

PROOF – 112.6

AGE – 9 years

DISTILLERY – Sagamore Spirit Distillery

PRICE – $89 (includes shipping)

WORTH BUYING? – Yes

I’m surprised that this bottle’s predecessor, the 8 Year, came out way back in 2021. I remember that bottle like it was yesterday, and uncorking it in a friend’s backyard on a spontaneous visit the day I picked it up. Birds were hopping noisily from branch to branch above our heads. A neighbor’s ancient dog sat quietly with us as we sipped. My friend and I hadn’t seen one another in a long time and it was nice to catch up over a glass of something. My full attention wasn’t on the Sagamore. But I do remember my eyebrows shooting up on sipping it.

Later, tasting the 8 Year more formally, I loved the flavor profile. Wonderfully fresh rye herbs and spices sprinkled over bright caramel and sweet wild honey. Clove and citrus oils also stood out. I soon picked up a second bottle. That back-up remains tucked away in my bunker.

And now this 9 Year sequal has arrived. It took its time getting out to California. I nabbed a bottle as soon as I had the opportunity.

At uncorking, my brow creased rather than shooting up. Among lovely notes of baked cherry, apricot, sopping fruit pie crust, cinnamon roll dough, and chocolate, a rubbery creosote note ran through it all. To my shock, this didn’t put me off. Creosote is a note I generally cannot abide. But here it actually blended in pretty well amidst the cherry and chocolate notes. But then on the finish, a sudden dry oak note left a bitter edge behind. Combined with the creosote, this dry and bitter final punctuation stopped the 9 Year just short of the effortless elegance of the 8 Year.

But whiskeys do evolve once they’re breathing again. So here we are, three weeks after uncorking and four pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using both Canadian and traditional Glencairns.

COLOR – deep, vibrant russet oranges

NOSE – bright herbal rye spices, caramel cake (is that a thing?), polished stone, vanilla, refined raw oak, lemon zest

TASTE – a silky-syrupy texture, rich caramel and rye spice up front, the polished stone, a plume of drier oak and wood spice notes

FINISH – a nutty chocolatey caramel, subtle fruit like cherry and apricot, oak, rye and wood spice

OVERALL – a rich, complex rye

Though the drier aspects remain, they are less bitter now. And the creosote is so faint and fleeting it’s barely noticeable when at all. This is a lovely rye, layered with complimenting and contrasting flavors. Like Sagamore’s signature bottle, the taste seems to tower. It has presence and weight.

At the same time, it’s fun and good humored. The sweet fruit notes playfully balance the drier wit of oak and spice notes. I’m reminded of an old luxury cabin I stayed at once in Inverness, California, some years ago. Built for leisure in the 1920s, with cozy private bedrooms, an ample sitting room strewn with chairs and mounted deer antlers and knickknacks and the requisite old piano, long outdoor porches to enjoy the woodsy views, an old-style tennis court. The place was at once luxurious and rundown, country club and ramshackle. This rye has a similar sense of the rustic and refined. I can imagine the Fitzgeralds drinking too much of this after a day of tennis.

Better than the 8 Year? Equal? Does it really matter? Now with the creosote and bitterness having abated, this is a delicious rye. One must enjoy oak, for sure. And the 112.6 proof does have a kick that adds to the rye and oak spice, so, “smooth” it is not. But good it certainly is.

Cheers!