Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/912565
december 2017 / the tasting panel / 9 Sagamore Spirit. The latter's 56 team members skew on the young side; Director of Quality Ryan Norwood looks barely old enough to set foot in a saloon, but we find him setting up a side-by-side tasting of Sagamore Spirit's most recent LTOs—limited-time offer- ings—both based on the brand's signa- ture 83-proof rye (see tasting notes in the sidebar). The idea for an 83-proof spirit is another Maryland reference: I-83 is the highway from Sagamore Farm to downtown Baltimore. As we visit the production area, Operations Assistant Colin Rippin is filling a barrel with the signature rye fresh from the still. Other members of the Sagamore team, meanwhile, are busy hand-labeling bottles destined to be filled with Sagamore Spirit Double Oak. The distinctive six-sided bottles are modeled on those used by early Maryland distiller W.T. Walters, whose art collection is now found in Baltimore's Walters Art Museum. The Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Rye Street Tavern expect to attract 100,000 visitors a year and will form the nucleus for a future 235-acre develop- ment on this once-dilapidated stretch of Baltimore's historic, star-spangled waterfront. Fort McHenry is literally a stone's throw across the harbor. Tasting Notes Two of Sagamore Spirit's LTOs—limited-time offerings—rolled out in October under the Sagamore Reserve label. Sagamore Double Oak begins as Sagamore Spirit Straight Rye Whiskey, which is aged for four years before being placed into "wave stave" barrels and aged for an additional four months. Wave stave bar- rels have grooved inner staves that expose the whiskey to more barrel influence. The barrels are toasted but never hit with a direct flame, resulting in a high concentration of caramelized sugars. Sagamore Moscatel Barrel Finished Rye Whiskey is also based on the brand's Straight Rye Whiskey and aged for 107–110 days in Moscatel- fortified wine barrels sourced from the south of Spain. The Sagamore Spirit distilling team acquired just 20 barrels for this aging process, making this a very exclusive and limited batch. The Tasting Panel's Publisher and Editorial Director, Meridith May, provides her tasting notes. Sagamore Spirit's stone springhouse provides the water—which runs a cool 52 degrees year-round—that's filtered through limestone substrate and used to cut the rye at the distillery. All three grains are used in their rye mash bill: predominantly rye, along with corn and a smaller amount of malted barley. Sagamore Reserve Double Oak ($60) 96 proof With its nose of orange marmalade, sweet corn chowder, and honeyed cedar, it's no surprise that the palate feels like satin as this liquid energy spreads warm notes of sandalwood, peach tart, and butterscotch. There's no need to cut this beauty with water; its calm and elegant mouthfeel finishes with a wash of spiced tea. 96 Sagamore Reserve Moscatel Barrel Finish ($80) 101.2 proof Aromas of walnut and coffee bean add base notes to the perfume that is reminiscent of a fine orange liqueur. On the palate, big, brawny notes of fig and banana bread interplay with cinnamon, bran muffin, and mocha caramel. The silky, lush finish offers up flavors and textures of apricot nectar. 96