It’s a typical fall day in New York. I love the beautiful foliage, but not so much the overcast skies and cold humidity that gets in your bones. For days like this there’s no better time to enjoy a good rye. Today, I’m reviewing a sample that a fellow r/bourbon member has kindly shared with me. This rye is sourced by MGP and uses both the famous Indiana style 95% rye/5% malt barley and the Kentucky style 51% rye/45% corn/4% malted barley, rye whiskey mash bills. As it says in the title, this rye is aged for at least 8 years. It’s time to kick back and try this rye while watching the Aramco US Grand Prix. Let the dram begin!
Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested about 15 minutes.
Distillery: Sourced from MGP.
Proof: 114.9.
Age: 5 years.
Batch#: 1B.
Mash bill: 95% rye/5% malted barley & 51% rye/45% corn/4% malted barley.
Price: $75.00 to $85.00.
Appearance: Gold amber.
Nose
Right off the bat this nose is fantastic. Cinnamon spice, brown sugar, vanilla bean, dill, nutmeg, chocolate and charred oak. Underneath all this, there is a sweet dough note. This is like a Cinnabon in a glass.
Palate
With a very nice medium mouthfeel comes a delicious palate. Starting with brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, dill and oak. Shortly followed by cinnamon spice in a big way in the back palate, then coming back around in the mid palate lasting way into the finish. Like the nose there is a certain overall dough quality that contributes a lot of character to this expression. The balance is great too.
Finish
Cinnamon lingers for a very long time in the cheeks and back of the palate. Subtle leather tannins enter in with chocolate and dill lingering along with it. The leather tannins fade a bit quicker than I would like but cinnamon spice still lingers to create a medium long finish.
Conclusion
This Sagamore 8 year rye batch is an easy drinking and super enjoyable pour that is perfect for a fall day like today. I love the chocolate, brown sugar, oak and overall “breadiness” this batch offers. There’s also good amount of spice but it’s very well balanced. While not very complex, the flavors that it offers are fantastic. I’m looking forward to what Sagamore releases next.
Rating: 7.5/10.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
