Sagamore Spirit has released two new rye whiskeys that were fully distilled at the company’s Baltimore headquarters, marking the culmination of a years-long effort to wean itself from a contract distilling arrangement forged in Sagamore’s early years.
The distillery unveiled Sagamore Small Batch rye whiskey, a new flagship product, as well as the 7-year-aged Bottled in Bond at a release party held Nov. 9 at its Baltimore Peninsula headquarters.
Though fully distilled in Maryland, the whiskey still contains some ingredients sourced from out of state. Between 50% and 60% of the rye grain that Sagamore uses is harvested in-state, including at Sagamore Farm in Baltimore County, which also grows all the corn used in the company’s whiskey. The rest comes from a grain broker working with farms in the Midwest, Pennsylvania and New York.
The weekend event was “meant to celebrate the brand’s successful efforts to produce 100% Maryland-made whiskey,” according to a news release. For Sagamore, that means rye whiskey distilled in Baltimore rather than in the Midwest, where MGP of Indiana made whiskey for the company before construction on the Baltimore Peninsula distillery was completed in 2017 .