This Sagamore Spirit Double Oak is essentially the Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength finished/extra-aged in brand new, toasted, oak barrels. A lot of brands are doing this as a way to add more oak to the whiskey and enhance its maturation by leveraging that ultra flavorful first char. It’s a trend that’s interesting, but for the most part, I think it’s incredibly wasteful.
Most of the time, I don’t think these double oak experiments are successful. Whiskeys like the St. Augustine Double Cask, Cask and Crew Double Oaked Rye or the Old Hansford Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey are a waste of good barrels. Just make a good whiskey in the first place so you don’t have to try and mask problems with extra oak. Which is all I think most are trying to do: fix bad whiskey by masking flaws under a blanket of char.
Though sometimes, things like the Jim Beam Double Oak come out and it gives me pause in my dislike of the double oak/double cask process. Makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, there’s something to this process when you start with good whiskey instead of flawed swill. Question is… where is this going to fall? Let’s get to drinkin’ and see if this is a waste of extra casks or something delicious.
Sagamore Spirit Double Oak – Details and Tasting Notes
Whiskey Details
Region: Indiana, USA
Distiller: MGP
Bottler: Sagamore Spirit
Mash Bill: At least 51% Rye + Corn + Malted Barley (blend of MGP’s high rye (95%) and low rye (51%) mash bills)
Cask: New Charred Oak, New Charred Oak
Age: 4+ Years
ABV: 48.3%
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Batch: 2020
Price: $85*
Tasting Notes
EYE
Deep ruddy oak, like drying blood.
NOSE
OAK, sticky dried dark fruit, baking spice, cocoa, herbal, Twizzlers, char and slightly nutty notes. Holy cow this is dense… DENSE I SAY and crazy darkly fruity under the heavy oak. It’s lovely just to sit and sniff.
PALATE
OAK, sticky dried dark fruit, baking spice, cocoa, herbal, Twizzlers, char and slightly nutty notes sit as a carbon copy of the aroma but with deeper oak and dark fruit notes. Seriously, oak just pummels through this Sagamore Spirit Double Oak, but the supporting notes are strong enough to band together, balance it out and stabilize the whiskey.
FINISH
Long -> Oak, dark fruit and spice fade out warmly and dryly.
BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Good, full, warm and a bit dry/tannic.
Sagamore Spirit Double Oak – Overall Thoughts and Score
This keeps getting better with time. First glass enjoyable, but it wasn’t anything to get excited about and I felt rather “meh” about it. A couple weeks later the second glass was nicer, more pronounced and the oak and dark fruit started to meld. 3 weeks later and the third glass was fantastic. Net-net, this whiskey needs to breathe.
It’s a really nice, full, whiskey and while I usually think double oak is a waste of barrels this actually has a pronounced impact over the original Sagamore rye. It’s tasty, it’s deep, it’s dark and warm with a bold character that works in cocktails. As much I hate to say it… Sagamore Spirit Double Oak seems to be a good use of a second cask, I’m going to enjoy drinking through this one!
SCORE: 4/5
*Disclosure: The bottle for this rye review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
Sagamore Spirit Double Oak Review $85
Summary
Deeply oak, darkly fruity and elegantly sweet and spicy. This is a rye I want to drink neat or in cocktails any night of the week.
Overall
4- Nose (4)
- Palate (4)
- Finish (4)
- BBF (4)
