Maryland Rye: A Look at the Sagamore Whiskey Core Collection
There are a lot of places in America that have become synonymous with whiskey. Kentucky has bourbon. Pennsylvania has its own long rye tradition. Tennessee has Tennessee whiskey.
And then there’s Maryland.
For much of American whiskey history, Maryland rye was a big deal. Long before craft distilling became fashionable, rye whiskey was being produced throughout the state, and Baltimore had developed a reputation for the style. Maryland rye was generally known for being a little softer and rounder than some of its northern counterparts, while still delivering the peppery spice that makes rye so distinctive.
Then Prohibition happened and Maryland rye essentially disappeared.
Today, there’s a concerted effort to bring it back—and few distilleries have put more energy behind that mission than Sagamore Whiskey.
We recently spent some time tasting three bottles from Sagamore Whiskey’s Core Collection: Small Batch Rye, Double Oak Rye and Cask Strength Rye. While all three share the same Maryland-style foundation, they demonstrate just how much personality can come from changing the aging, blending and proofing process. But before getting into the whiskey, it’s worth understanding why Maryland rye matters in the first place.
A Very Brief History of Maryland Rye
Rye has been part of Maryland agriculture and distilling for centuries. Maryland’s rye tradition can be traced back to the colonial era, and the state eventually became one of America’s important rye-producing regions. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Maryland rye was being sold far beyond the state, with Baltimore serving as an important center of the trade.
Maryland rye wasn't some modern invention created to give today's whiskey drinkers another category to explore. It was once a major part of American whiskey. Maryland’s approach also developed its own personality. Rye was well suited to the region’s agriculture, and Maryland distillers became known for producing whiskey that could deliver rye’s characteristic spice while maintaining a somewhat smoother, rounder character.
Then came Prohibition in 1920. The 18th Amendment and Volstead Act devastated the American whiskey industry, and Maryland’s rye producers were hit particularly hard. While a few companies managed to survive through exceptions such as medicinal whiskey, the state’s once-thriving rye industry never fully recovered.
For decades, Maryland rye was more history lesson than living whiskey tradition. That has changed.
In 2023, Maryland officially designated Maryland Rye Whiskey as the state’s State Spirit, giving a formal nod to the state’s historic relationship with rye. And that’s where Sagamore Whiskey comes into the story.
Enter Sagamore Whiskey
Sagamore Whiskey was founded in 2013 with a fairly ambitious idea: revive Maryland’s rye whiskey heritage and build a modern whiskey around it. The company initially worked with distillers outside Maryland while it developed its own operation. That early whiskey was aged before being brought to Maryland, where the Sagamore team blended, proofed and bottled it.
In 2017, Sagamore began distilling and aging its own proprietary rye whiskey at its waterfront distillery in Baltimore. That’s an important part of the Sagamore story because the company isn’t simply trying to reproduce an old Maryland rye. It’s trying to reinterpret it.
The foundation is a blend of two different rye mash bills: one higher in rye, which brings more spice and fruit, and another lower in rye with more corn and malted barley, which contributes sweetness and a rounder texture. The two are aged separately before being blended.
There’s another Maryland connection that we find particularly interesting. Sagamore uses limestone-filtered spring water from Sagamore Farm, from a spring house built in 1909. The water is transported to the Baltimore distillery and is used to proof the whiskey. That distinctive 1909 reference appears on the bottles as a nod to the spring. It’s a small detail, but it’s exactly the sort of thing we appreciate at Drink The Bottles: place matters.
Three Ryes. Three Very Different Experiences.
So, what happens when you take that Maryland-style foundation and approach it three different ways?That’s what makes these three bottles so interesting side-by-side.
Sagamore Small Batch Rye
The approachable one. The everyday rye. The bottle that makes a pretty compelling argument for keeping rye on the shelf. Sagamore Small Batch Rye is a blend of two straight rye whiskeys aged approximately 4–6 years in new American oak. The combination of the two different rye profiles gives the finished whiskey some interesting complexity, while Sagamore’s triple-distillation process contributes to its smooth character. Made from 20 barrel batches.
On the nose, we get fresh rye spice, vanilla, caramel and a little dried citrus fruit.
The palate is where it becomes particularly approachable. There’s plenty of classic rye character—pepper, baking spice and a touch of oak—but it’s balanced by brown sugar, honey and caramel. There’s enough sweetness to soften the edges without turning the whiskey into something that doesn’t taste like rye.
The finish brings back the spice mildly, with a little oak and lingering honey. This bottle is bright, balanced and remarkably easy to drink. This is probably the bottle we’d reach for when we want rye but don’t necessarily want to sit down and dissect it for 30 minutes.
It’s also the three bottles’ most natural candidate for cocktails. A Manhattan or Old Fashioned would have plenty to work with here without the whiskey getting lost behind the other ingredients.
ABV: 46.5% (93 proof)
Distillery: Sagamore Distillery
Suggested retail price: $39.00
Drink The Bottles score: 90/100
Sagamore Double Oak Rye
If Small Batch is about showing off the character of the rye itself, Double Oak is about what happens when you give that whiskey even more time with wood.
The process starts similarly. The rye spends approximately 4–5 years aging in new, high-char American oak barrels. Then things get interesting. Sagamore blends the whiskeys and finishes the whiskey in toasted wave-stave barrels for an additional 18 months. The increased surface area of the staves creates another opportunity for the whiskey to interact with the wood.
The nose moves toward toasted oak, vanilla, caramel and roasted nuts. On the palate, the rye spice is still there, but it has been joined by richer flavors of toffee, caramel, hazelnut, prailine and toasted coconut. There’s also a creamy sweetness that makes this feel noticeably richer than the Small Batch.
What we really like about Double Oak is that the additional oak doesn’t completely bury the rye. You still know you’re drinking rye. It’s just wearing a slightly more luxurious jacket.
Richer, deeper and more dessert-like without becoming overly sweet. If you’re someone who enjoys whiskey with noticeable oak influence—or you’re a bourbon drinker looking for a bridge into rye—this may be the bottle that gets your attention. It’s also a terrific after-dinner pour. This is a whiskey we could easily see becoming a favorite for someone who normally gravitates toward bourbon.
ABV: 48.3% (96.6 proof)
Distillery: Sagamore Distillery
Suggested retail price: $59.00
Drink The Bottles score: 91/100
Sagamore Cask Strength Rye
And then there’s the big one. Cask Strength Rye doesn’t exactly knock on the door. It walks through it and this one has a swagger. This whiskey brings together high-rye and low-rye straight whiskeys, including older whiskey that contributes significantly to the finished profile. The current expression includes whiskey aged up to seven years, with the older whiskey contributing deeper chocolate, hazelnut and molasses notes while other components bring citrus and spice.
At cask strength, there isn’t anywhere for the whiskey to hide. The nose immediately brings dark caramel, oak, rye spice and a hint of island fruits. Then the palate arrives and it brings dark chocolate, black pepper, brown sugar, molasses and toasted cashews.
There’s a lot happening, but that’s what makes this bottle so compelling. The intensity isn’t simply about alcohol. There’s actual depth underneath the proof. And while the whiskey is powerful, the sweetness and citrus notes keep it from becoming one-dimensional. Tasted neat. We're going to re-visit this with a couple of drops of water and see what other flavors talk to us. We know they're in there!
The finish hangs around with mouth-watering pepper, dark chocolate, oak and lingering baking spice. It is complex, powerful and probably the most rewarding of the three for a serious rye drinker. It’s also a great demonstration of why blending is such an important part of whiskey making.
Sagamore isn’t simply looking for the oldest barrel or the highest proof. It’s combining different ages and mash-bill profiles to create something more complete than any one component might provide on its own. You have to respect the process.
ABV: 61.5% (123 proof)
Distillery: Sagamore Distillery
Suggested retail price: $69.00
Drink The Bottles score: 94/100
Three Bottles, One Maryland Tradition
What we like most about tasting these three together is that they make the concept of Maryland-style rye easier to understand. It’s not simply a matter of saying, “This is rye from Maryland.” There’s a philosophy behind it.
The spice of the rye is important, but so is balance. Sagamore’s use of two different mash bills gives the distillers a way to build both intensity and softness into the whiskey. The Maryland climate, the barrels, the aging process and even the spring water all become pieces of the final product.
And then you have three very different interpretations:
Small Batch — the classic introduction.
Double Oak — richer, deeper and more oak-driven.
Cask Strength — bigger, darker and unapologetically intense.
Put them next to each other and you get a pretty good argument for why rye deserves more attention from American whiskey drinkers.
So, Which One Should You Buy?
That’s going to depend on what kind of whiskey drinker you are. If you’re new to rye, start with Small Batch. It’s approachable enough to enjoy neat, but versatile enough for cocktails. If you love oak, caramel and richer whiskey, then go with Double Oak. The additional maturation gives it a noticeably different personality. If you’re a rye enthusiast—or just like your whiskey with some muscle, we suggest you pick up Cask Strength. Take your time with it. A few drops of water can open it up if the proof is a little aggressive at first.
But honestly? The most interesting thing to do is taste all three. Because when you do, you’re not just tasting three Sagamore bottles. You’re tasting three interpretations of a whiskey style that once helped define Maryland, disappeared for much of the 20th century, and is now making a very legitimate comeback.
And that’s a pretty good reason to raise a glass.
