Twelve years building a name on Maryland-style rye. Then you release a bourbon.
Sagamore High Rye Bourbon is the first bourbon from Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit to reach the UK, arriving as a straight whiskey bottled at 43% ABV in a 70cl bottle. It carries a high-rye mash bill of 60% corn, 25% rye and 15% malted rye, matured in new charred American white oak. The RRP is £45. The Whisky Exchange lists it now, and The Whisky Shop is due to stock it from October 2026. For a distillery whose reputation was built almost entirely on rye, a bourbon is a genuine change of direction, and this is the version UK drinkers can finally buy.
What is Sagamore High Rye Bourbon?
Sagamore High Rye Bourbon is a Maryland-made straight bourbon whiskey that leans hard on rye. Where most bourbons carry rye as a small seasoning grain, this one uses 40% rye across the mash bill, split between raw rye and malted rye, on top of 60% corn. The result sits deliberately between two American traditions: the corn-led sweetness of bourbon and the pepper-and-spice backbone that made Maryland rye famous. Sagamore frames it as an homage to Kentucky bourbon and a celebration of its own Maryland rye heritage, rather than a choice between the two.
The UK bottling comes in at 43% ABV, which puts it in easy, everyday-sipping territory.
Who is Sagamore Spirit?
Sagamore Spirit was founded in 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland, and opened its waterfront distillery on the city’s Port Covington in 2017. The house style is Maryland rye: historically a grain that thrived in the region’s soil and coastal climate, prized for balance and spice, and central to American cocktail culture long before Kentucky bourbon became the national default.
The distillery proofs its whiskies with limestone-filtered spring water from Sagamore Farm, and its core range has been built on a signature blend of two rye mash bills. The High Rye Bourbon is the first time Sagamore has stepped outside rye into a corn-led spirit, which is what makes it notable rather than just another new bourbon.
Ryan Norwood, Master Distiller at Sagamore Spirit, described it as a whiskey built for drinkers who enjoy both bourbon and rye, and said the team had been keen to share it more widely.
Sagamore High Rye Bourbon tasting notes
Note: we have not yet tasted this bottling. The notes below are drawn from the distillery and The Whisky Exchange and are attributed as such, pending a full TDW tasting.
Nose: cherry syrup, turbinado sugar, vanilla, soft cinnamon and nutmeg
Palate: cherry, brown sugar, caramel, pistachio, vanilla, marshmallow
Finish: bitter espresso and rye spice, lingering and dry
ABV: 43% | Mash bill: 60% corn, 25% rye, 15% malted rye | Cask: new charred American white oak | Price: £45 (70cl)
What makes it different
The interest here is the grain, not the marketing. A 40% rye content in a bourbon is high enough to shift the whole character: the corn gives the caramel, brown sugar and vanilla you expect, while the rye pushes cinnamon, nutmeg and a dry, spiced finish through the middle. That espresso-and-spice close is doing something most sweeter, wheat-led bourbons do not.
It also reads as a signal of intent. A rye specialist releasing a bourbon, and sending it internationally, suggests Sagamore is building a broader core range rather than staying in a single lane.
Price and availability
Sagamore High Rye Bourbon has an RRP of £45 for a 70cl bottle. The Whisky Exchange lists it, though at time of writing it is showing as out of stock, so it is worth setting a stock alert. The Whisky Shop is expected to carry it from October 2026. The Whisky Exchange ships to much of Europe, which is the practical route for readers outside the UK who want a bottle before wider distribution catches up.
From October here
Who it’s for
This is one for rye drinkers curious about bourbon, and for bourbon drinkers who want more spice than sweetness. At 43% and £45 it is priced as an approachable everyday pour rather than a collector’s bottle, and the high rye content gives it more to say than its proof might suggest. If you want cask-strength intensity you may find 43% gentle, but as a first bourbon from a rye house, and the first Sagamore bourbon to land in the UK, it earns a look.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sagamore High Rye Bourbon? It is a Maryland straight bourbon whiskey from Sagamore Spirit in Baltimore, and the distillery’s first bourbon to be sold in the UK. It uses a high-rye mash bill of 60% corn, 25% rye and 15% malted rye, is matured in new charred American white oak, and is bottled at 43% ABV.
What does Sagamore High Rye Bourbon taste like? The distillery and The Whisky Exchange describe cherry syrup, turbinado sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose, then cherry, brown sugar, caramel, pistachio, vanilla and marshmallow on the palate, closing on a dry finish of bitter espresso and rye spice. The high rye content gives more spice than a typical corn-led bourbon.
How much does Sagamore High Rye Bourbon cost? The RRP is £45 for a 70cl bottle in the UK. That places it as an accessible everyday bourbon rather than a premium or limited release, in line with Sagamore’s core rye pricing.
Where can I buy Sagamore High Rye Bourbon? The Whisky Exchange lists it now, though stock can sell through, and The Whisky Shop is due to stock it from October 2026. The Whisky Exchange ships internationally across much of Europe, including Denmark, so readers outside the UK can order it there.
Why is it called a high rye bourbon? To be a bourbon, the mash bill must be at least 51% corn. Sagamore’s is 60% corn, which qualifies it, but the remaining 40% is rye, split between raw and malted rye. That is far more rye than most bourbons carry, hence high rye: bourbon by law, but with a rye distillery’s spice running through it.
What is Sagamore Spirit known for? Sagamore Spirit, founded in 2013 with a waterfront Baltimore distillery opened in 2017, is known for Maryland-style rye whiskey built on a blend of two rye mash bills and proofed with Sagamore Farm spring water. The High Rye Bourbon is its first move beyond rye.
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