When Sagamore Spirit established its distillery on Baltimore’s Patapsco River waterfront in 2017, Ryan Norwood — now Sagamore’s vice chairman of operations — knew the model confronted an uphill climb. As soon as an epicenter of American whiskey manufacturing, Baltimore’s distilling business and the “Maryland type rye whiskey” that Sagamore aimed to resurrect had all however vanished within the a long time following Prohibition. “Once we first began the model, we have been beating the drum for ‘Maryland rye,’” Norwood says. “And on the time, anyone exterior of the Mid-Atlantic was like: ‘What are you speaking about?’”
Eight years later, Maryland rye is firmly again on the worldwide whiskey map in no small half as a result of Sagamore’s persistent efforts to deliver the Previous Line State’s distinctive type of rye — considerably sweeter and rounder than conventional Pennsylvania or New York-style ryes — again to the fore. With tons of of worldwide spirits awards to its identify and its first 100% Maryland-made rye now rolling out globally, Sagamore is on a mission to reclaim Maryland rye’s storied place within the American whiskey pantheon.
That mission started with the not-so-simple process of growing a brand new incarnation of the area’s signature rye whiskey with out many signposts to information the way in which. Maryland rye whiskey loved broad recognition from the late 18th century till Prohibition pushed it into obscurity, and the historic document provides loads of clues to its taste profile. However the historic document doesn’t provide a singular recipe for recreating it, as a result of no singular recipe existed.
“There was no set definition round Maryland rye,” Norwood says. “There’s no precise mash invoice, and there’s really loads of interpretation round what Maryland rye was. However we all know that traditionally Maryland distillers used extra corn of their course of, and that is sensible once you persistently see it referenced as barely sweeter and extra balanced than different ryes of the period.”
Maryland rye probably diverged from the brawnier, spicier whiskeys hailing from factors north as a result of numerous variations in local weather, native water sources, and distillation methods. However distillers’ prepared entry to corn in Maryland throughout the late 18th century probably performed a major function in setting the area’s rye whiskeys on their very own distinctive path.
“At present corn is grown in Pennsylvania and even up into New York,” Norwood says. “However throughout the 1700s, Maryland was one of many northernmost states rising corn at the moment. I believe that’s why it began discovering its method into loads of Maryland whiskeys, offering that contact of sweetness in contrast with many Pennsylvania ryes.”
Sagamore’s distillery workforce takes a decidedly trendy method to reaching its conventional Maryland rye profile. It begins by creating two distinct rye whiskeys. The primary is a standard excessive rye, with simply 5 p.c malted barley within the mash invoice. The second recipe features a important quantity of corn within the recipe, producing a sweeter — however nonetheless rye-dominant — spirit. Every mash is cooked, fermented, triple-distilled, and aged individually previous to mixing, permitting Sagamore to fastidiously handle the steadiness of the completed whiskey.
The ensuing whiskey pays homage to Maryland’s centuries-old distilling custom through a completely trendy course of. It additionally lives as much as Sagamore’s “Made in Maryland” ethos. Sagamore sources a full 100% of the non-GMO corn wanted for its low-rye whiskey from Sagamore farm. It additionally companions with native Maryland agricultural communities to develop and harvest a lot of its rye grain, protecting farmers’ upfront seed prices and contracting to buy their future harvests.
All of this has allowed Sagamore Spirit to tick the field on a aim the workforce set when it opened its distillery doorways again in 2017. Like most startup whiskey producers, Sagamore relied on contract- distilled spirits to craft its earliest releases, because the distillery’s personal Maryland-made spirits wanted time to mature within the barrel. However with eight years of distillation and ageing behind it, Sagamore now has sufficient mature whiskey readily available to provide 100% Maryland-made spirits at scale.
Final yr’s launch of Sagamore Small Batch Rye Whiskey marked the distillery’s first world launch of a rye whiskey distilled, aged, and bottled solely by Sagamore in Maryland. Sagamore Cask Energy Rye Whiskey is following straight behind, with 100% Maryland-made releases hitting cabinets globally this yr.
Which means two of Sagamore’s three core whiskeys — the third is Sagamore Double Oak Rye — are actually 100% Maryland-made and obtainable worldwide, a major achievement for a distillery decided to ignite a worldwide Maryland rye renaissance. “It’s one thing we’re very pleased with, and we’re screaming it from the mountaintops as a result of it’s such a milestone for us,” Norwood says. “We’ve been speaking about this second for eight years.”
This text is sponsored by Sagamore Spirit.
