Maryland-based Sagamore Spirit has been on its own quest in recent times to showcase its take on a Maryland style rye whiskey. Its core expressions normally carry the load in this regard, but the distillery is also not afraid to play with finishing style releases as well, as we’ve seen in the Vintner’s, Port and Cognac finishes of late. Now a new limited edition finish is being added, this time in the form of ex-Calvados French apple brandy barrels.
The new Sagamore Spirit Calvados Finish, according to those behind it, takes straight rye whiskeys “consistent with Sagamore Spirit’s two distinct, signature mash bills” and finishes them for at least 11 months in Calvados barrels before being blended and aged for another 9 months in low-rye American oak barrels. For those unfamiliar with it, Calvados is an apple brandy unique to France’s Normandy region, and is made when apples are fermented into a cider and distilled before aging in oak barrels for at least two years.
“Calvados Finish is a prime example of our distilling team’s passion for experimentation and excellence,” said Brian Treacy, Sagamore Spirit’s president, in a prepared statement. “One of our distillers has a personal penchant for Calvados and wanted to see what it might bring out in our rye whiskey. That’s where it began, and from there, the team caught the fever and was all-in too. They gave it the time it needed in the barrel to create one of our most special releases so far.”
This latest Sagamore whiskey is bottled at 101.2 proof and set to price at $69 per 750 ml bottle. It should be available nationwide come March. Very limited official tasting notes suggest “silky soft notes of baked apples, cinnamon and honey from the storied French apple brandy casks.”
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