Sagamore Spirit 8 Year Straight Rye (2023 Release)

Spicy with a great finish

A lot of good things going on here; poppyseed muffin, blueberry, black pepper, lemongrass, rye spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, leather, and citrus. Ethanol is low but not non-existent. Complex and inviting. The palate offers the muffin and blueberry from the nose, cinnamon sugar dusted snickerdoodle cookie, super sweet oak, clove, white pepper, cola, and dark chocolate. Extremely well integrated, robust, and balanced flavors. Finish is on the long side of medium and features toasted marshmallow, chocolate mint, burnt sugar, white pepper, cinnamon toast, and tobacco leaf. Mouthfeel is exceptional; extremely thick and velvety for a rye and also at the same time effervescent and tingly, elevating this to a whole other level. Phenomenal. As an aside, I recently brought this to a whiskey tasting with about 10 other bourbons/scotches and everyone agreed this stole the show. The fact that this is mostly available and not allocated proves the whole “whiskey tater” stereotype because one would be hard pressed to find a better rye. At $80, this is an absolute steal. 6 out of 5. Wait scratch that, it’s terrible. Hard avoid. Leave more for me. (lol)

Nose has blackberry, vanilla, caramel, leather and flowers on top of the rye. Count me in. The palate is round and smooth—apple, cinnamon and raisin bread join the flavors from the nose. Black pepper and clove make an appearance. A savory herbal note hovers in the background over plenty of charred wood. Long herbal spicy finish. Sophisticated. Excellent.

Bought this after the Mash & Drum reviewed it and compared it to the Thomas Handy BTAC rye. I think it’s a really good rye but doesn’t compare to Handy. But again the price is right.

Another well balanced edition to the lineup. The extra years help to balance and add wood and spice. Wish it was cheaper

N: rye spice, vanilla, black cherry, clove P: cherry-vanilla crème bomb up front which persists underneath a perfect rye spice/oak/black tea flavor which extends through to the finish. F: Nice long rye spice, oak, clove/mint/tea goodness Nose, Palate, and Finish all top notch. Absolutely delicious, nectar of the gods level, haha. . The best rye I’ve had yet, quickly purchased a second bottle before supplies ran out. Really impressed with Sagamore.