Whiskey Review: Sagamore Spirit Bottled-in-Bond Rye

Updated: June 2026

The short answer: Sagamore Spirit Bottled in Bond Straight Rye is a 6-year, 100-proof Maryland-style rye whiskey made from a blend of two rye mash bills (one high-rye, one lower-rye), priced at $59 MSRP. It's a well-crafted, complex rye that leans sweeter than typical dill-forward styles. We scored it 39.5/50, just shy of no-brainer territory.

Introduction

Today on Film & Whiskey, we're reviewing Sagamore Spirit Bottled in Bond Straight Rye Whiskey. This is somehow our first time covering Sagamore on the podcast, which is a surprise given the brand's reputation. Sagamore is a well-respected rye producer out of Baltimore, Maryland, a city better known in the whiskey-adjacent literary world for Edgar Allan Poe than for the horror-tropes of Mary Shelley.

Sagamore has built its identity around Maryland-style rye, and this particular expression carries the Bottled in Bond designation. For anyone unfamiliar, Bottled in Bond is a category defined by the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act, which requires the whiskey to be the product of one distillery, from one distilling season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. It's a mark of provenance and consistency that not every whiskey can carry.

The specs here are worth noting. This is a 6-year age-stated product bottled at 100 proof. Sagamore lists it as a blend of two separate rye mash bills, one high-rye and one lower-rye (likely something around 51/49). We're not sure whether the mash bills are blended prior to aging or aged separately and married at the end, though we'd guess the latter to satisfy the Bottled in Bond single-distillery, single-season requirements. MSRP runs $59, which puts it in direct comparison with other well-regarded 6-year ryes on the market. Let's get into it.

Nose

Brad: I deeply enjoyed this. There's a rich cheesecake vibe going on. The rye comes through, the mint comes through, it's got caramel, and it's got a tart green apple note. This is a stellar rye nose. I'll give it an 8/10.

Bob: I'm glad they mentioned they blended two mash bills, because it helps me categorize how interesting this is. On the very front of the nosing experience, it's bourbon-heavy. Caramely, decadently sweet. Then the back half is classic dill rye notes. I didn't get mint so much as I got the dill branch of the rye world, which I love, because if I'm going to drink a rye, I want it to smell and taste like rye. This has all the great characteristics of a well-matured rye grain with that sour rye mash we love. I'll give it an 8.5/10 on the nose.

Taste

Brad: On the palate, the richness of the caramel and cheesecake turns into a beautifully sugary apple pie filling. There are peach notes in here. It moves into a spiciness of mint and cinnamon, and somehow when you put all of that together it's a tasty palate. Stunningly good. I'll give it an 8.5/10.

Bob: The only negative in the drinking experience for me is that it tastes more like a high-rye bourbon than a rye. That may be because I'm getting more of the caramel notes here, but that's what dominates. It's a sweet rye, which I'm sure you love, Brad, because you famously hate dill and pickles, so anything in the sweeter rye range you'd gravitate toward. I wish I got some of those big, sour rye notes. It's pleasant, but if you'd put this in front of me blind, I would have called it a high-rye bourbon. I won't ding it too much for that. I'll give it a 7.5/10 on the palate.

Finish

Brad: The finish is where it tailed off slightly. The sweetness completely falls away. This was the first stage where I got a dill-heavy finish, along with black pepper, cinnamon, and oaky, caramel bourbon notes. I'll give it a 7.5/10 on the finish. Still tasty, down from the peak at the palate.

Bob: I'm at a 7.5/10 as well. For me, it turned more bitter. I got more char notes on the back of this, and black pepper for sure. I hate when it tips into that not-quite-tannic cigar-ash barrel note, and that's where this one went. It's good, but a 7.5 for me.

Balance

Bob: Overall, this is a well-balanced whiskey. I was waffling between 7.5 and 8. I'll stick at a 7.5/10 on balance, because the nose was complex and the palate and finish tapered off from there.

Brad: I'll give it an 8/10 on balance. This has all the things you want out of a complex rye: richness, decadence, and the minty dill rye notes. This is a tasty rye that I'm a huge fan of.

Value

Brad: Sagamore Spirit Bottled in Bond has an MSRP of $59. You're looking at $60 for a well-aged product at 100 proof. You can mix it, make a Manhattan, or drink it neat. It's a tasty product at only $60. I'll give it an 8/10 on value.

Bob: I'm looking at WhistlePig Piggyback Rye as a comparison point. That's also a 6-year product and it's also retailing at $60, so this is right in line with the $10-per-year-of-aging principle. This is right there with Piggyback for me, and it comes from a much smaller distillery. Sagamore is still a craft distiller when compared to the bigger players. This isn't a bad value. I'll give it an 8/10.

Final Scores

Bob: My final score is 39/50.

Brad: I'm coming out to a 40/50. It's not top-tier, A-list, one-of-the-best-ryes-I've-ever-had territory, but it's a delicious rye whiskey.

Conclusion

We're coming out to a combined score of 39.5/50 (or 79/100), which puts Sagamore Spirit Bottled in Bond just shy of the 40/50 no-brainer mark. For reference, 35/50 is where we'd typically start recommending you seek out a pour at a bar or pick up a bottle, and 45/50 is excellent. If you asked us whether this is a 40/50 whiskey in a vacuum, we'd probably say no, but it earns a solid thumbs-up recommend to try or buy. It doesn't quite hit the upper echelon of ryes we've had on the show, but if this is our starting point with Sagamore, we're excited to see what else they have to offer. Rye is a category that's underappreciated relative to bourbon, and Sagamore is doing strong work in that space. If you want a gateway into the world of craft-produced Maryland rye, you could do a lot worse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sagamore Spirit Bottled in Bond Rye worth the price?
Yes. At $59 MSRP for a 6-year, 100-proof, Bottled in Bond rye, it lines up with the $10-per-year-of-aging principle and compares favorably to peers like WhistlePig Piggyback Rye at the same price point. We scored it 8/10 on value combined. It works neat, in a Manhattan, or in any cocktail that calls for rye.

What does Sagamore Spirit Bottled in Bond Rye taste like?
The nose brings caramel, cheesecake, mint, green apple, and dill. The palate opens with sugary apple pie filling, peach, mint, and cinnamon, drinking sweeter than a typical dill-forward rye. The finish shifts into dill, black pepper, cinnamon, and oaky bourbon notes. Overall, a complex, sweeter-leaning Maryland-style rye with rich caramel character up front.

What does Bottled in Bond mean for Sagamore Spirit Rye?
Bottled in Bond is a legal designation from the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act. It requires the whiskey to be the product of one distillery, from one distilling season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. Sagamore's Bottled in Bond Rye meets all four criteria and is 6 years old.